USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > Past and present of Nodaway County, Missouri Volume II > Part 50
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The boyhood days of William Oliver, the immediate subject of this review, were spent on the farm and he received a very good common school education. On October 15. 1907, he married Myrtle L. Clayton, daughter of Frank L. and Elizabeth Clayton, of Nodaway county. They began their married life on the farm where they still live, his parents' homestead, which he purchased, and here he carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Oliver takes a great deal of interest in raising Shorthorn cattle and Poland- China hogs. He is a well read young man, especially on agriculture and live- stock subjects.
Mr. Oliver is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically, he is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. They are the parents of one child. Walter M.
CLAIR MANSHIP.
Washington township. Nodaway county, has no more careful and per- sistent toiler among its citizens than Clair Manship, who was born March 23. 1875. in DeKalb county, Missouri. He is the son of Sylvester and Adelia (Bonham) Manship, the former born in Indiana, July 22, 1847, and the latter in Wisconsin, January 21. 1857. They were married December 25. 1874. in Andrew county, Missouri, at the residence of her father, David Bonham, who was among the early settlers of Andrew county. He was captain of a company which he organized for service in the Union army and as such served in the Civil war with a very creditable record, serving one year, enlisting in 1864, and was in Sherman's raid. He later figured prom- inently in the affairs of Andrew county and was elected judge of the county court : he also served his county in the state Senate for a number of years. and he became one of the best known and most influential men of the state. He and his wife spent the first four years of their married life in DeKalb
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and Andrew counties, then came to Nodaway county and located on an eighty-acre farm in section 31, Washington township, which was unim- proved. He erected a small building and engaged in general farming. His mother heired two hundred acres of land adjoining his property. Mrs. Syl- vester Manship is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. of which Mr. Manship is an attendant and contributor. In 1903 they moved from the farm to Marshalltown, Iowa, where they bought property and where they now reside. They are the parents of thirteen children, all living but three. Carrie, Pearl and Ethel being deceased; the others are named Clair, David, Daisy, Robert, Allie, Stella, Ellsworth, Earl, Ruth and Vernie.
Clair Manship. of this review, received a common school education and spent his youth on the home farm. He was married on October 15. 1897, to Alice Shepherd, daughter of William and Nancy Shepherd, of Andrew county, and they began their married life at Cawood, that county, five years later moving on the farm owned by his parents and consisting of two hundred and eighty acres, which he still successfully operates.
Mr. Manship is an enterprising young farmer, well up on the advanced methods of agriculture. He manages well and is more often ahead than behind in his work.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Manship are members of the Missionary Baptist church, and they are the parents of three children: Audie, born July 29. 1899: Zelda. born May 16, 1903: Paul. born February 24, 1897; the last named died in infancy.
FRANK L. CLAYTON.
Among the sons of the old Keystone state who have wended their way westward through the defiles and gaps of the Alleghanies, seeking new homes and more fertile soils, where land is cheaper and more abundantly rewards the toiler, was the Clayton family. now represented in Nodaway county by Frank L. Clayton. He was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. April 21, 1866, the son of Jacob C. and Phoebe A. (Brown) Clayton, both natives of Pennsylvania, and both born in 1843. They grew to maturity. were educated and married in their native community, and in 1867 came to Mercer county, Illinois. Two years later they moved to Nodaway county. Missouri, and bought a farm of eighty acres in White Cloud township, which they improved, later added one hundred and sixty acres, the place now con-
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sisting of three hundred and twenty acres. Mr. Clayton is a very successful farmer and stock man and has laid by an ample competency for his declining years. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church. In pol- itics, he is a Republican. To Jacob C. Clayton and wife nine children have been born, namely: Frank L .. Flora, deceased. Lizzie B., Harry T., Luella M., Olive R., Jacob W .. Anna, and Chester. deceased.
Frank L. Clayton, of this review, received a good common school edu- cation and spent his youth on his father's farm. On December 23, 1888, he married Lizzie A. Thompson, daughter of William H. Thompson, of this county, and he began his married life on his father's farm, on which he re- mained eleven years, when he moved to his present farm, which he bought of Cornelius Thompson at thirty-five dollars per acre, which had fairly good improvements on it. but he has made many additional ones and now has one of the best places in the township, the land having more than doubled in value. Besides farming, he is an extensive breeder of livestock, keeps the best of stock and is a very careful farmer. Mrs. Clayton is a poultry fancier and has some very fine breeds, which are greatly admired by all who see them and with which she is very successful. She keeps large numbers on hand constantly and they are eagerly sought after. Like her husband. she is progressive and while advancing the interests of the family likes to see the general progress of the county.
Mr. Clayton was formerly trustee of his township. also tax collector. and at present is one of the school directors of this district. He is active in political affairs and influential in local matters, being at present the Re- publican county committeeman of his township. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Christian church.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clayton. as follows : Myrtle, Leon and Ora.
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WILLIAM E. BRITTAIN.
Washington township numbers among its best agriculturists William E. Brittain, who was born December 13, 1866. in Nodaway county. He is the son of Fletcher E. and Jane E. (Long) Brittain, both natives of North Carolina. They were married in 1865 in Lynn county. Kansas. They came to Nodaway county, Missouri, the same year and located near Guilford on land belonging to J. W. Brittain, purchasing forty acres of him. Here the
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father engaged in farming and spent the remainder of his life in this county, dying in April, 1903: Mrs. Brittain survives, being now sixty-one years old. and makes her home among her children. There were seven in the family : William E .. James, Florence, Rosa, Clarence, Hattie and John, all living except James and John.
William E. Brittain remained at home until he was of legal age. and he received a common school education. On January 17. 1889. he was mar- ried to Martha Clemmens, daughter of Samuel and Harriet (Weatherman) Clemmens. Mr. Clemmens was a soldier in the Civil war, serving three years. He began his married life on his present farm, which then belonged to his mother-in-law. He later bought and is now the owner of one-fourth of section 12, Washington township. Farming and stock raising has been his chief occupation and he keeps the best grades of all kinds of stock and feeds for the market. He is a good judge of all kinds of livestock and understands how to raise and get the best prices for them.
Wiley J. Brittain, grandfather of William E., was a native of North Carolina, who came to Nodaway county in an early day, entered land in Washington township and spent the rest of his life here.
Mr. Brittain is an energetic and up-to-date farmer, well read on the advanced methods of agriculture. He is among the public spirited men of his township, served for a number of years as school director of his district and he takes a great deal of interest in educational affairs. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brittain, namely : Earl. born April 13. 1892 : Elsie, born July 25. 1895: Lester, born June 30, 1900.
JACOB M. WONDERLY.
Proud of the fact that he is a native of one of the best agricultural counties in the United States, Jacob M. Wonderly, of Washington town- ship. Nodaway county, has been content to spend his life here at home and he has thereby become well known in this part of the county and is now well established from a material standpoint, owning a good farm and having a comfortable home. He was born on January 15. 1873, the son of John F. and Margaret ( King) Wonderly, both natives of Missouri, the father born April 26. 1850. On April 16. 1872. they were married in this county. The
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Wonderly family is of Swiss origin. Jacob M.'s grandfather was a native of Switzerland, having emigrated to America when a young man, located in Maryland and there met and married Mary Kuntz, a native of that state. It was about 1825 when he crossed the broad Atlantic. in an old-fashioned ship and sought his fortune in the New World. In 1840 he came to St. Louis, Missouri, where he followed his trade, that of plasterer and contrac- tor. He moved to Illinois, in which state he lived six years, engaged in farm- ing. From there he moved to St. Joseph. Missouri. in 1869, and the same vear came to Nodaway county, buying a farm of one hundred and twenty acres near Conception, which he operated. also engaged in the mercantile business, maintaining the second store opened in Conception. He spent the remainder of his life here and both he and his wife died at the age of sixty- seven years. They took a great interest in the affairs of the Catholic church. Mr. Wonderly was a Democrat in politics. He was drafted during the Civil war and paid a substitute six hundred dollars to serve at the front in his stead. The following children constituted his family: Joseph A., Lewis, John A., Flora (deceased). Mrs. McGaffigan. John F. ( father of Jacob M., of this review).
John F. Wonderly began his married life on his father's farm, which he bought and engaged in general farming. He served his township as col- lector for nine years and was postmaster at the town of Clyde for ten years. He is a Democrat. politically, and has been an active worker in the party and is a well-known and respected citizen in his township. He has made his home on a farm he purchased in 1902 in section 7. Washington township. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church at Conception.
Jacob M. Wonderly, of this review, grew to manhood in his father's home and received a common school education. When he reached manhood he married Stella Sapp. daughter of John and Matilda (Lybarger) Sapp, of this county. The mother is now deceased and Mr. Sapp is living on a farm here. There were five children in the Sapp family.
Mr. Wonderly began his married life on his present farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres, which he bought of his father-in-law in 1909. for which he paid seventy-five dollars per acre. He had lived on the place eight years prior to buying it. Besides farming, he devotes considerable attention to stock raising, keeps a good grade of stock and is considered one of the best of our young farmers. He and his wife are both members of the Catholic church. and in politics he is a Democrat.
They are the parents of five children, namely : Leora, born August 21. 1902: Irene. May 1. 1904: Ruth, born August 1. 1906: Viola, born March 19, 1908: Dorothy, born in January, 1910.
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survived nearly a decade by his widow, whose death occurred on July 29. 1904, their remains now resting in the Lafayette cemetery.
The subject of this sketch remained under the parental roof until he had attained mature years and received a fair education in the public schools of the community. On April 15. 1897, he was united in marriage with Louisa Giffin, the daughter of William and Permelia Giffin, of this county. They began life for themselves on his father's farm, starting with seventy- five acres of land. At his father's death he bought the latter's farm and devoted himself thereafter to its operation, his mother making his home with him until her death. In 1904 Mr. Pugh sold the old home farm and bought his present farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which had formerly been known as the Dean Miller farm, for which he paid fifty-eight dollars an acre. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in section 30. this township. He is widely known now as one of the most successful farmers and stock buyers and feeders in the county, due entirely to his own inde- fatigable and persistent efforts and his good business judgment. He has erected three large, commodious and well-arranged barns and recently built one of the finest residences in this part of the county. it being thoroughly modern and up-to-date in all its appointments, the property in its entirety be- ing considered one of the model places of the community. Mr. Pugh is eminently public spirited and gives an earnest support to every measure hav- ing for its object the advancement of the best interests of the locality where he lives. Politically, Mr. Pugh is an ardent Republican and takes an intelli- gent interest in local public affairs, having been a member of the school board for a number of years and being at the present time a member of the town- ship board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church South, to which they give an earnest and liberal support.
To Mr. and Mrs. Pugh have been born the following children : Herbert, born March II. 1898: Grace E., March 17. 1901 ; Hazel M., January, 1903 : Ernest V., September. 1906; Harold L., August, 1908. The members of this family are well known in the community and are well liked by all who know them, their home being the center of a large social circle.
JOHN E. DONALDSON.
One of the young farmers of Washington township who is forging to the front by means of hard work and constant application is John E. Donald- son, who was born in Nodaway county, on April 22. 1871. He is the son
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of Richard and Sarah (Evans) Donaldson, who were natives of Ireland. where they grew to maturity and were educated in the public schools. They migrated to the United States about 1860 and located in St. Joseph, Mis- souri, where they were married. About 1866 they came to Nodaway county and settled in Jefferson township, where they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land which had been partly improved. This land was added to until Mr. Donaldson owned a half section, and was very successful as a farmer and stock man. He was a highly respected citizen and influential in his community. He and his wife were members of the Episcopal church. Politically, he was a Democrat. Both parents died when seventy-two years of age and are buried in Swinford cemetery. Five children were born to them, all living except Maggie: the others are Alice Farnan, Lydia Lutzen. James and John E.
John E. Donaldson, of this review, lived at home during his youth and received a common school education. In 1895 he was married to America Morris, daughter of Reuben and Eliza Morris, of this county. Mr. Morris was a soldier in the Union ranks during the Civil war, serving almost throughout the struggle, and while in the service of his country he received a severe rupture. He is remembered with a substantial pension.
Mr. Donaldson began his married life on his father's farm, on which he remained nine years and successfully operated. He bought the excellent farm where he now lives in 1903 and has built a substantial and modern home here, attractive in design and surroundings, and he has improved his farm in every way, making it rank with the best in the township. He is known also as a stock man of good judgment. handling draft horses and Shorthorn cattle. also Chester-White hogs, these being his favorite breeds; however, others are to be found on his place from time to time. He takes a great pride in all kinds of good stock on his farm, and he feeds extensively for the market. and owing to the excellent quality of what he offers for sale. rarely fails to get high prices.
Politically, Mr. Donaldson is a Democrat and is one of the public spirited men of this township. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson: Mabel, born in 1896, and Sarah. born in 1904.
BALLARD BROTHERS.
It is not necessary for one to make very extensive inquiry upon arriving in Nodaway county to ascertain that the Ballard brothers are among the leading agriculturists and foremost business men of this favored section of
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the great Empire state of the West, and, while they are laboring for the advancement of their own interests, they do not lose sight of their obliga- tions to their fellow-men and are ready to lend any necessary aid in further- ing movements calculated to be of general benefit to the county. Their excel- lent landed estate in Washington township is one of the "show" places of this section of the county.
George Ballard was born in 1870 and Charles Ballard in 1867, both in this county. They are the sons of John W. and Margaret (O'Connor) Bal- lard, the father a native of New York state and of English descent; the mother was a native of New Jersey and of Irish extraction. They each rep- resented fine old families, and they grew to maturity and were educated in their home communities, coming to Illinois early in life and were married in Willow county in 1855. The following year they came to Gentry county, Missouri, and purchased a small farm and lived there about ten years. Sell- ing out. they removed to Nodaway county and bought two hundred and forty acres of good land north of Guilford. Washington township, and there they continued to reside for a period of twenty-five years. Mr. Ballard pros- pered by reason of his excellent management, adding to his original purchase from time to time until he was the owner of eight hundred acres in sections 17 and 18. He was a very successful farmer and accumulated much prop- erty. He was prominent in political affairs, served very acceptably as county judge for a number of years and for a short time he was postmaster at Clyde. In 1890 he moved from his farm and located in Clyde, where he spent the remainder of his days. He was a Republican and a member of the Catholic church at Conception. He was well known and highly esteemed by all for his life of industry, public service, generosity and integrity. He was called to his reward in 1899.
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Ballard were the parents of seven children, of whom all are living with the exception of Mary, who was the wife of Mathew Farnan : Amanda is the wife of John Allen. The four brothers. none of whom were ever married, are the owners of twenty-five hundred acres of fine farm land in Nodaway county. James L. is vice-president and a stockholder in the Guilford Bank and owns several hundred acres of land. The firm, Ballard Brothers. George and Charles, share with their mother and sister, Eliza. who live on their farm. Their residence here is one of the finest and most attractive in the county and has every modern convenience. George and Charles, who are in partnership, own an excellent farm consist- ing of fifteen hundred acres, on which stand many expensive barns and all modern improvements. They are extensive stock feeders and shippers. At present (spring of 1910) they have two hundred and fifty head of cattle.
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about the same number of hogs and fifty head of the best farm horses pro- curable, also a number of mules and mule teams of the best quality.
These two brothers are deserving of a great deal of credit for what they have accomplished, for they each started in life with about fifteen hundred dollars, given them by their father. By close attention to business and good management they have succeeded in making for themselves one of the largest farms in the county. They usually plant three hundred acres in corn and one hundred and fifty acres in oats ; however, they raise but little wheat. Everything about their place shows thrift, prosperity and good man- agement.
Their mother. now seventy years of age, enjoys the friendship of a wide acquaintance. She has reasonably good health, and is proud of her grandchildren. Christopher, Charles, Mathew, Joseph and William Farnan. and Samuel. John, James and Margaret Allen.
TILGHMAN MEDSKER.
Standing for upright manhood and progressive citizenship, the gentle- man whose name forms the caption of this sketch, although yet a young man. has long occupied a conspicuous place among the representatives of the great agricultural interests of Nodaway county, and his influence in every rela- tion of life has made for the material advancement of the community in which he resides and the moral welfare of those with whom he has been brought into contact. Tilghman Medsker comes of an old and highly esteemed Ohio family, the genealogy of which is traceable to an early period in the history of that commonwealth.
Mr. Medsker was born September 15, 1872. in Holt county, Missouri. the son of Robert and Lucy ( Roberts) Medsker, both natives of Ohio. They grew to maturity and married there and came to Holt county, Missouri, in 1865. bought and improved a farm and lived there until 1895, when they sold out and moved to Nodaway county and settled near Skidmore on a farm on which some improvements had been made. Mr. Medsker engaged in farming and teaching school in the winter time. In 1900 he bought prop- erty in Skidmore and moved from his farm to that place. He was assessor of his township for a number of years. He was also a member of the school board of his district. In politics he was a Republican and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents
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of eight children, namely: Ida is the wife of T. L. Howden: Lulu married Rev. E. L. Robinson : Minnie married H. D. Cornish ; Josie married Abraham Goodpasture : Anna is the widow of F. M. Campbell; Homer, Ephraim and Tilghman.
Tilghman Medsker received a common school education, and on June I, 1904, was married to Lizzie Beggs, who was born July 24. 1874, the daugh- ter of William and Mary R. Beggs, of this county, a farmer and a native of Indiana. They began their married life at Skidmore. In 1905 Mr. Medsker bought one hundred and sixty acres in section 24. Washington township. He has added to this until he now has a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres, on which he now lives, engaged in general farming and stock raising. his place being known as the "East Star farm" and it is one of the desirable and neatly kept places of the township, admired by all who see it. He has an excellent and comfortable dwelling and outbuildings. All this he has made unaided, having started in life with but five hundred dollars, and it is safe to say that few young farmers have made a greater success. All of his im- provements are the best and up-to-date. He has a power and storage house built of metal, and an eight-horse-power gasoline engine, which he uses for grinding feed and many other purposes. He has a newly designed hog house for breeding hogs, which attracts much attention among his neighbors. He devotes special attention to the breeding of hogs and their preparation for the market. He is a member of the school board of his township, and both he and his wife belong to the Methodist church. He is a Republican in politics.
Mr. and Mrs. Medsker are the parents of two children, Leland Leon, born July 8, 1905, and Mary May, born July 10, 1908. Mr. Medsker is a man of kindly disposition, pleasant, honest and thoroughly trustworthy, ac- cording to the large circle of acquaintances which he can claim, and he is admired by all who know him for his uprightness and business integrity.
WILLIAM F. POTTS.
The Potts family is deserving of proper recognition in the history of Nodaway county. for its members have been identified with the growth of the same since the early days of its development, and from that time to the present they have played well their parts in the general progress of this local- ity, especially in connection with the agricultural interests. One of the best
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known of the present generation in Washington township is William F. Potts, who was born March 4. 1860, in this county, the son of William and Rachael (Killion) Potts, both natives of Indiana, the father having been born on November 28, 1823, and the mother in 1830. The paternal grand- father of William F. Potts was born in Indiana and was in the war of 1812. His wife died in Indiana and the family moved to Iowa, and in that state Mr. Potts married a second time. his last wife being a sister of his first one. After remaining in Iowa for six years the family moved to Platte county, Missouri, and after three years came to Nodaway county and bought a farm northwest of Maryville where Mr. Potts engaged in farming until after the death of his second wife, when he went to Arkansas to visit a sister and while there sickness overtook him, resulting in his death.
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