USA > Missouri > Carroll County > Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 24
USA > Missouri > Chariton County > Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 24
USA > Missouri > Clay County > Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 24
USA > Missouri > Linn County > Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 24
USA > Missouri > Ray County > Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 24
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Perry Brown is one of a family that consisted of live sons and four daughters. The six chil- dren that survive are scattered, some in California and some in Missouri. A lad when coming to Missouri, the first school that our subject attended was held in the primitive log building with the
crudest appliances for getting an education. but land was rich and fertile and the forests were filled with game, so that the actual necessities of living were not so difficult to gain. Brought up as a farmer, he followed that as a young man, but in 1855 launched into the mercantile business at Tinney's Grove. There he was employed until the breaking out of the war, when he entered the state militia, in which he served until the close of hostili- ties. After the war he resumed his mercantile pursuits, continuing thus engaged until 1882. Ile was in business in Chillicothe for about two years. and afterward came to the farm on which he still resides.
The Brown estate comprises four hundred and twenty acres, all of which is in the best condition. highly productive and bearing excellent build- ings. It is indeed an ideal country residence. Our subject was married in November. 1867. 13 bride being Margaret JJ. Goodman. of Charleston. 'Ill. Iler people, who were Kentuckians. settled in Illinois before the war. The four children that have graced this union are. Bessie. Cora, Mamnie and Jennie. All have received the best of educational advantages, and Miss Cora is a fine musician and has an excellent reputation as a teacher.
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OHN C. LEFORGEE. Whether as a sol- dier during the late war, when he fought to sustain the principles he deemed right. or as a peaceful citizen pursuing the vech- pation of a farmer. our subject has shown him- self to be a man worthy the confidence of his friends and acquaintances. He was born in Fleming County. Ky., November 17, 1813. and is the son of Abraham and Martha ( Porter) Leforgee, the former born in Fleming County in 1812. and the latter in the same county in 1810. The education of the father was acquired in the common schools of that State, he meanwhile living with his par- ents upon the home place and assisting in the farm work. He remained at home until it was broken up by that dread scourge, cholera, which
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carried away his father, mother and two sisters in quick succession in 1833, Abraham being the sole nurse and attendant during that awful time. I'pon him, too, fell the sorrowful duty of digging the graves and burying his loved dead.
In his youth Abraham Leforgee worked in a saw and grist mill, and thus gained his start in life. October 15. 1833, he married Martho, daugh- ter of James and Rebecen Porter. Kentucky con- tinued to be his home until 1872, when he ze. moved to Macon County, Ill .. locating in the city of Deeatur, and making his home with a son, where he died August 15, 1871. His wife survived him a few years, dying January 3. 1878. He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, which organi- zation he joined in boyhood. His wife also lived and died a faithful member of that church. In polities he was astrong Democrat. and stood firmly by the nominees of that party. His father. Jesse Leforgee, went from Pennsylvania to Kentucky in an early day.
Our subjeet received his education in the ordi- nary district school. At the age of eighteen lie entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Com- pany C. Seeond Kentucky Mounted Rifles. under his brother. Capt. Leforgee. Ile fought in many skirmishes and battles; rode with Wheeler around Rosecrans, and with Morgan in several raids, but not in the raid into Ohio, and was with him at Greeneville. Tenn .. when he was killed: yet in all his perils our subjeet was never wounded, nor was he ever taken prisoner. He remained with his com- pany until the close of the war. when he returned home and resumed the duties he had laid down four years before.
In the year 1867 Mr. Leforgee married Miss Emma, daughter of Richard and Mary ( Adams) Money. all natives of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. I Leforge are the parents of four children, namely: Lula, wife of JJ. E. Austin. of Ray County: Ada Lee, wife of M. M. Keel, of Ray County; James R. and Noble E. Their daughter. Mr -. Austin. is the mother of three children: Bessie. Mand and Amanda. Our subject came to Ray County in 1869, rented land near Camden for two years, and in 1875 settled upon his present farm, purchasing eighty acres of well-improved land in township :
51. range 28. His membership is in the Pre-hy- terian Church, and he has ever been a firm sup- porter of the doctrines of that religious organiza- tion, and an active worker in its behalf. The platform of the Democratic party harmonizes with his own political views. and his support of that party is as hearty as it is unqualified.
HARLES SEVIER. This extensive agricul- turist and highly successful stock-raiser of Ray County is largely identified with the local progress and improvements of his immediate neighborhood and locality. He was born at Ft. Leavenworth. Kan .. September 30. 1832, and is of French extraction. Ilis paternal grandfather. Robert Sevier, served with distinction in North Carolina against Cornwallis, and was one of the heroes of the Revolution. The Seviers are a brave race, and various members of the immediate fiunily have at different times served their country upon the field of war. Nor have they been less distin- guished in civil life. Maj. Robert Sevier. the fa- ther of our subject, received many important of- fices of trust, whose duties he ever performed with efficient fidelity. Charles Sevier came with his fa- ther to Missouri in 1810, and locating m Rich- mond, Ray County, there received his education. attending the Richmond College and the' Masonic Institute, of Lexington.
In 1853, our subject entered the Circuit Clerk's and Recorder's office (ex-officio), as assistant to his father, then an incumbent of those office -. In a comparatively brief time. he was appointed his father's deputy and continued as such until 1865. when he engaged in general farming and stock- raising upon his valuable landed property wear Richmond. He owns an immense tract of land. and operates two thousand acres, much of which is in the immediate vicinity of Richmond. May 16. 1879. Maj. Sevier passed away, his death being deeply mourned as a public loss. He was an in- telligent, courageous and upright man and a pul- lie-spirited and noble citizen. During the years
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1879 and 1880, the time of our subject was devoted almost exclusively to the settlement of his father's large and valuable estate, and he was well qualified to administer upon the property.
Mr. Sevier was married in 1856 to Miss Susan L. Murrell, of La Fayette County. Mo. The pleasant and happy home was blessed with the presence of two children, who were in the order of their birth: Samuel M., born August 10. 1859, and a graduate of Kemper Family School at Boonville; and Isabel, who was born January 5, 1862. The wife of our subject, a most estimable lady, died June 4, 1866. Mr. Sevier was married January 28, 1869, to Miss Emma A. Dines, of Ray County. She is an accom- plished lady and has an extended circle of true friends. Mr. and Mrs. Sevier have had six chil- dren. Robert was born December 1, 1869; George F., July 28. 1872; Mary R., July 27. 1876; Ann Jí .. April 21. 1878; I'ma. September 12. 16-1; and Charles A., January 3, 1881. These intelligent children are busily preparing themselves to meet life, well armed with the education which assists them to overcome obstacles.
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Our subject is identified with the Presbyterian Church, while his wife is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South. They are ever fore- most in the promotion of benevolent enterprise and Christian work. The elegant family residence and the spacious and well-kept grounds are the seene of many social gatherings, the children and their parents possessing a multitude of friends. An honored and self-reliant man. public-spirited and enterprising. Mr. Sevier has worthily won his way upward, and has long possessed the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens.
HOMAS K. ROSS, an energetie and suc- cessful general agriculturist and stock- raiser, owns a valuable homestead of two hundred and seventy acre, and a half. located in township 51. range 32. lle is widely known as a longtime resident of Clay County, and a thor-
oughly upright and honored citizen. Our subject was born in Madison County, Ky .. in 1831. and is the son of William and Nancy (Hawkins) Rus. William Ross was born in 1809, and his wife. a native of Madison County, Ky., was born in Ish
The father of our subject was a native Virgin- ina, and came with his parents to Kentucky in a very carly day. His father died when he was about fourteen years of age, and from that time he made his own way in the world. His first employ- ment was running an engine in a mill. In 1840 he came to Clay County, and bought land near where our subject now lives. Here he ambitiously en- gaged in the double avocation of a farmer and miller, running both a flour and saw mill. He dammed Smith Fork of Platte River and re-built upon an old mill-site. Living a life of busy use- fulness he gained the respect and good-will of all who knew him.
A gang of horse thieves and desperate charac- ters infested Clay County at that time, and were known as the Shackelford and Callaway gang. In the fall of 1851, William Ross and son with several neighbors met these brutal men in Smith- ville, and in the encounter Mr. Ross was shot sev- eral times, and his son and a young named Doug- las were killed. Three of the murderers were seized by the enraged citizens of the country, and were all hung upon one tree in Smithville.
The parents of our subjeet were married in 1830, the mother being a daughter of Philip and Nancy (Brooks) Hawkins. To them were born nine children. as follows: Squire J., who was killed; Thomas K., our subjeet; Eveline. wife of B. F. Rollins; Andrew B .: Catherine. wife of Il. J. Hawkins: Mattie II., wife of Samuel Moore: James M .; William D .; and Elizabeth W .. wife of J. D. Megget. The father was a member of the Masonic order in good and regular standing, and politically was a firin Democrat. He died in 1876, of paralysis. his wife having passed away five years before him.
Our subject remained upon the homestead un- til he had attained manhood. when he bought eighty acres of good land. and there engaged in agricultural pursuits. About that time he was united in marriage with Miss Mary S .. daughter
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Gro. Yh Clark
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of Lee and Susan ( Penn) Rollins. Their home was blessed by the birth of seven intelligent chil- dren. Charles A. was the oldest of the family ; Jennie became the wife of George W. King; Mat- tie L. married Rice Barnard; Richard, William. Birdie and Cannie complete the list of sons and daughters, who together with their father and mother enjoy the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintance. Our subject and his wife are valued members of the Christian Church, and are prominent and liberal supporters in the extension of the good work of that relig- ious denomination. In social and benevolent en- terprises of their neighborhood and vicinity, they take an active part and are numbered among the leading residents of the county. Politically, Mr. Ross affiliates with the Democrats. although his earnest desire is that the best men shall receive the offices of importance, thereby insuring to this great republic a peaceful and prosperous adminis- tration.
G EORGE W. CLARK belongs to a well-known pioneer family of Ray County, whose rep- resentatives for generations have been dis- tinguished for valor and patriotism. his grand- father having been a Revolutionary soldier and his father and four uneles soldiers in the War of 1812. Hle himself and eldest son served in the War of the Rebellion. Mr. Clark was born in Scott County, Ind., November 26, 1817. lle is a son of John Clark, of Brownsville. Pa., that town being a fort at the time of his birth. Grandfather John Clark emigrated to Indiana while that State was still a Territory, and settled in the midst of a for- est in the southern part of the State, where he built a fort to protect his family and the settlers from the incursions of the Indians. He there died at a ripe old age.
Our subject's father followed farming in Indi- ana until coming to Missouri. Ile settled in La Fayette County in 1816 and the following year moved to Ray County, where he died in 1869 at
the age of seventy-seven years. His marriage took place in Indiana, his bride being Miss Eliza- beth James, a Kentuckian by birth, whose father. George lames, settled in Kentucky simultaneously with Daniel Boone. He was a member of the first colony that was established there, and subsequently moved to Southern Indiana and died in Stark County. Mrs. Clark died in 1852. Both she and her husband were members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church.
George W. Clark is the eldest of a family of nine children, of whom there were five daughters and four sons. Three of his sisters are now living in California. Our subjeet was reared on a farm in Scott County, Ind., and as the educational ad- vantages were limited at that carly time, his school days were very abbreviated. He was reared in the woods and early learned to hunt. The amount of game he killed would make a modern hunter pałe with envy. He came to Missouri in 1836 on a prospecting tour, and returned again in 1841, making the journey hither from Peoria on foot, and he tells that in walking through the for- ests he sometimes made as much as thirty miles a day. As one can imagine, there were then long distances between houses. and he frequently had to wrap his blanket about him and lie down in the woods with the sky as his only roof. The north- ern part of the State was then full of Indians. He removed to Ray County in 1847 and has since lived here. Ile then purchased one hundred and thirty aeres of land on section 2. receiving his pa- pers direct from the Government and paying for the tract 8400. The first home was a small log cabin, and although it was easy to keep the larder supplied with meat it was a long distance to mill. From time to time he added to his orig- inal purchase until he had five hundred aeres.
July 25. 1813, Mr. Clark married Miss Mary Stormes, of Scott County. Ind. Her parents were from Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have gone through life together now for forty-nine years and their content at the partnership is as great as ever. They have had seven sons and three daughter -. Those who are living are: John A., Willis, George. Jacob, Sanborn. Julia and Mary J. Our subject is a Republican in his political opinions. In 1962
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he entisted in the war, joining the State Militia on the U'nion side, and served until the close of hos- tilities. As five of his brother -- in-law, who were also his neighbors, went to the war. he stayed as near home as possible in order to look after the twenty children belonging to the different families. and went only when absolutely necessary. Our subject is now the owner of three hundred and twenty-three acres of land. Although himself de- nied that right of an American citizen. a good education, he has given to his children each a good start and every advantage possible.
b ARRISON WILSON, a prosperous general agriculturist and stock-raiser of Clay County, located on section 9, township 53, range 30, is widely known as an energetic, able and upright citizen. He was born July 27. 1826, upon what is known in this vicinity as the Old Croley Place. He was one of nine children born to John and Nancy (Croley) Wilson, who with a brother of the husband's came to Easton in a very early day. John Wilson settled in Mis- souri in 1820, and was married in Clay County, where he owned thirteen hundred acres of land in the neighborhood of Harrison Wilson's homestead, and two hundred east of here. He spent the greater part of his life in general farming and stock-raising, but served his country bravely in the War of 1812.
John Wilson was a publie-spirited and progress- ive citizen and was especially noted for his liberal- ity in the support of schools, colleges and churches. He and his excellent wife were valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. and were ever foremost in aiding in its good work. The Mt. Vernon Church near their home was especially favored with their care and generous contributions. An ardent promoter of educational advancement. Mr. Wilson assisted in building the college at Green - ville, and also aided in the maintenance of the William Jewell College. at Liberty. Politically he was a Democrat and a strong advocate of the prin-
ciples of the party, and during the Civil War was in sympathy with the South. He was a man of more than ordinary ability and attainment -. and when he passed away his death was mourned as a public loss by the people among whom he had spent the greater portion of his useful and hon- ored life.
Our subject was prospered early in life, and be- came the owner of half a section of land. where he engaged in the pursuit of general agriculture and stock-raising. Later he added to his property. then owning four hundred and fifty aeres, and afterward purchased three hundred aeres and gave this land to his two sons. Ile also at one time owned real estate a little north of Easton. in Buchanan County.
Mr. Wilson was united in marriage in 1852 with Miss Mary J. Gibson. a resident of Buchanan County, and a daughter of George and Jemina ( Lane) Gibson. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson became the parents of two sons, but one of whom now survives. John L., born in March. 1853, was married to Fran- nie P. Gow, and left four children to mourn his death. George E .. born in 1855. married Miss Lydia Brooks in 1883. and resides with his parents. He is a graduate of Greenville College and is an able and progressive man. Ilis marriage has been blessed by the birth of three bright and promising children. two of whom are attending the excellent schools of the home neighborhood. George Wil- son owns four hundred acres of valuable land. and is not only a farmer but devotes a portion of his time to trading and shipping. Politically he is a Democrat. and is a member of the Vigilance Committee. He is also actively connected with the F. & L. U.
Harrison Wilson is a Baptist in religions con- viction, as is also his good wife, and both are highly valued members of the church and active workers in the cause. Mr. Wilson is a Democrat. and always interested in local and national issues Although past sixty-six years of age, he can read without spectacles, and is hale and hearty, having no bad habits, neither smoking nor drinking. A citizen of integrity and honor, ever using his in- fluence in behalf of the uplifting and equestion of the masses, and ever ready to aid in local progress
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and reform, he has worthily won the lasting es- teem and confidence of the general public, and has in the county where he has passed most of his life a host of true and carnest friends.
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OHN P. HEWLETT. Years of travel and residence in various parts of the country finally ended with John P. Hewlett, when he settled down in Richmond, Mo. He was a member of the firm of Hewlett & Kellar, who conducted a livery, omnibus and feed stable at Richmond. Our subject was born in Washington County. Ky., on the 3d of July. 1839. a son of Thomas B. and Nancy M. ( Flournoy) Hewlett. The father was born in Hanover County, Va., in . 1815, a son of Terry Hewlett, who was of Scotch descent. The mother was a daughter of Mathew Flournoy, of Kentucky, and both she and her husband were early settlers of Kentucky.
Thomas B. Hewlett removed with his family to Ray County, Mo .. in 1842, and settled eight miles north of Richmond, where he carried on general farming, and at the same time did a saw and grist mill business. He resided on the farm con- tinuously until his death in 1884. in the sixty- seventh year of his age. llis wife died in 1814, upon the same farm. John P. Hewlett, who is the second son and the third of five children, re- mained at home until of age, attending the dis- triet schools during their sessions. Upon attain- ing his majority he was taken into partnership with his father in the grist and saw mill. which continued until about three years before the death of the latter. In 1865 he made an overland trip to California in a wagon train. prompted by a desire to see the country. Returning in 1867 he stopped at the old home, where he remained nineteen years, having charge of the mill and look- ing after the farm; then. in 1886. he sold out farm and business and removed to Richmond.
Mr. Hewlett bought an interest the succeed- ing year in two livery stables, and soon after con-
solidated them, and with his partner also owned the 'bus line. He formed a partnership in 1888 with William II. Kellar, under the firm name of Hewlett &. Kellar, and this firm now employed from twenty-five to thirty head of horses in their hack, omnibus, buggy and other livery work, be- side doing a large business in boarding and feed- ing. Mr. Hewlett sold his interest in the business to his partner, Mr. Kollar, in January, 1823. Our subjeet was married in 1866 to Miss Alice Dar- neal, of Richmond, daughter of Dr. Darneal. Mr. and Mrs. Hewlett have no children. Their resi- dence is a neat and attractive home in the north- ern part of the city.
Mr. Hewlett is a firm believer in the principles of the Democratic party, and unswervingly sup- ports its nominees. lle is a thrifty, go-ahead man, who seeks to improve his condition only by straight and apright methods. Ile is a man who would get along anywhere. because he is not afraid to put his hand to any kind of honest work. The amount of information he has picked up in travel and in mingling with men is very great, and his views on current events are always inter- esting. It may be stated that his father. Thomas Ilewlett, was twice married. and had six children by the first marriage and four by the second, the latter wife being Rhoda A. (Trigg) Hewlett. who was born and reared in Saline County, Mo.
THOMAS D. WOODSON, the honored ex- President of the Ray County Savings Bank. carly engaged in the mercantile busi- ness in Missouri, and has for thirty years made his home in Richmond. Here he profitably eu- gaged in merchandising until Is78, when he de- voted himself exclusively to banking. Our sub- jeet is the son of Robert S. and Hulda Ann (Young) Woodson. and was born in Woodson- ville, Hart County. Ky .. March 10. 1825. His fa- ther was a native of Goochland County. Va., born November 26. 1796, and removed with his par- ents to the present site of Woodsonville, then in
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Farren County. Ky., in 1801. Grandfather Thomas Woodson was born twenty miles above the city of Richmond. Va .. upon the James River, and died in Woodsonville at the advanced age of eighty- five years. The paternal grandmother, ako a na- tive Virginian. passed away in the same village.
The mother of our subject died September 1, 1888, at the residence of our subject in Rich- mond. Mo. The maternal great-grandfather. Jesse Saunders, married Mary, only child of Anthony Levilian, and the paternal great-grandfather. Mat- thew Woodson, married Elizabeth Levihan, only child of John Peter Levilian. The paternal an- cestors, great-grandfather, grandfather and father of our subject, were all Close-communion Baptists of the old school, and were earnest, upright and conscientions Christian men. The parents of Mr. Woodson had nine children. three of whom died in infancy. The record of the surviving sons and daughters is as follows: Jane Ann, the wife of John II. Ardinger, a merchant of Woodsonville. Ky., who later became a prominent citizen of Lex- ington, Mo .. and now resides in Texas; Phillip .I .; Martha A., wife of the late Gov. Austin A. King. of Missouri; our subject; Elizabeth Levilian, wife of Shelby A. Jackson. M. D., of Ohio County, Ky .; Robert Hyde, the youngest son, who joined the Confederate army at the beginning of the Civil War and received a fatal wound at the battle of Cham- pion Hill, Miss. He fell into the hands of the enemy and died in the springtime of youth.
Grandfather Thomas Woodson was the founder of the place which bears his name, and which was once a thriving and attractive village. situated on a high plateau. overlooking the surrounding coun- try, and pleasantly located upon the banks of the Green River. in Hart County, Ky. Our subject, Thomas D., volunteering in 1847 in the war against Mexico, served with bravery and fidelity in the Fourth Kentucky Infantry, under Capt -. Pat Gard- iner and Thomas Mayfield. until peace was re- stored, when he came to Missouri and located in Kingston. Caldwell County, there engaging in the mercantile business. He remained in Kingston until the spring of 1852, when he crossed the plains with a train of ox-wagons, bound for California. Arriving safely in the Golden State. Mr. Wood-
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