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 85
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 85
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 85
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 85
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 85
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RS. F. A. SHANNON. The day of weak and incompetent womanhood has gone by. The woman of the present is an important factor in every walk of life, and while she still is the gracious reigning mistress of the home. she has shown that when necessity demands other service she is able to cope with her brother in al- most every vocation. The true woman of to-day has an independence which is not boldness, a mol- esty which is not prudery, and a dignity which is far removed from pride, She has mental strength
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too, which need not be maseuline to enable her to carve out a fortune for herself and often for those depending upon her. Such a woman is the subject of this sketch. She was born in Racine, Wis .. in 1815, a daughter of E. B. and S. A. Richardsor, the father a native of Vermont and the mother of the State of New York. The grandmother was in maidenhood Lydia A. Sweat, a native of Vermont.
Our subjeet was educated in the common schools of Wisconsin, completing her education in Bloom- ington, Ill., following which she taught school in Wisconsin. After coming to Missouri in 1865, she also engaged in teaching in this State At this time the family settled in Salisbury, which town was then in its infancy. and here our subject spent two years, teaching both in public and pri- vate schools. Mrs. Shannon was one of nine chil- dren, seven of whom are living. Ira A., born in Wisconsin, married Miss Mary JJ. Darling and they reside on the old Wisconsin homestead; Egbert died; Herbert married Miss Nettie McGee; Eli A. married Miss Allie Gilfillan and resides in Wis- consin; Eugene married Miss Orphia Shane and resides in Wisconsin; Lovila married Lewis Gil- fillan and resides in Wisconsin; Rosetta L. lives in Wisconsin; and Eva, who married Frank Belt, is dead.
Our subject married Vaseo HI. Cram. a native of Vermont, in 1865, in the State of Wisconsin, and four children were born of this union, as follows: E. R., who was born in Salisbury. Mo .. in 1869, re- sides an Shannondale; F. Mand, born in Shannon- dale in 1877, reside- at home; Mabel .1 .. born in Mis- souri in 1878; and one child who died young. In 1875 our subject and her family removed to shan- nondale, where they engaged in the mercantile business, she taking charge after the death of Mr. Cram, which occurred in 1878. In connection with the store they had also charge of the post- office and the management of the express office. At her husband's death our subject was left with a babe of three weeks, and soon found that she had too many cares. Closing out her business there she went to Salisbury and again resumed teaching.
For five years our subjeet continued in her posi- tion as teacher of the grammar school, and here
she met and married Mr. Shannon. in 1883. For the following three years Mr. and Mrs. Shannon remained here, then removed to Shannondale, to a farm. This is a magnificent piece of land, con- sisting of four hundred acres, upon which there has been created a fine modern residence of thir- teen rooms, which, with the improvements. cost $4,000. The land has a valuation of $60 per acre. Besides this fine farm. Mrs. Shannon owns three houses in the town of Salisbury. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Salisbury. to which she has long been a most liberal contrib- utor, and has taken a deep interest in the Sunday- school, being its competent Secretary, which posi- tion she held for five years. There is no person in Chariton County who is held in higher esteem than Mrs. Shannon.
ILLIAM B. PALMER, one of the real live business men of the city of Salisbury, Mo .. is the subject of this notice. lle is the owner of the largest livery barns in the city and is a man well known as responsible, obliging and pleas- ant. The birth of our subject took place near Troy. Lincoln County, Mo., October 17, 1866. 1Ie is the son of George A. Palmer. a native of Lincoln County, who was the son of Burton Palmer, a na- tive of Kentucky, and was but a child when he came to Missouri with his parents. The great- . grandfather of our subject was named William, and was born in Kentucky, where he followed the occu- pation of farming. He located near Troy. in Lin- coln County, and there had a large farm. The grandfather was a farmer and large land-owner and died in 1852.
Our subject's father was reared in Missouri and educated in Troy. In 1819, when eighteen years of age, he went across the plains overland with stock, in connection with the Crow brothers, start- ing with fifteen hundred head of cattle but losing six hundred of them on the way. After reaching California, George Palmer was employed on a ranch and was engaged in teaming in California.
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in the San Joaquin Valley. but in 1854 he returned to Missouri via the Isthmus of Panama. The next year his father died and he took charge of the farm of one hundred and sixty acres and op- erated it, and in 1871 he removed to Montgomery County, Mo.
Here George Palmer bought about twelve hun- dred acres of land and this he has divided up into farms for his children. Six hundred and forty acres of the place he has retained and he operates this himself. In his political views he is a Demo- crat. as firm in his belief as any good Mis-onrian gan be. Ile is a good man and a member of the Christian Church. The mother of our subject was Maggie (Gilmore) Palmer, a native of Missouri, born in Lincoln County, to which county her grandfather. John Gilmore, came at an early day. and where he followed farming as a pursuit. Ilis father was a native of Ireland. Grandfather til- more was in the Civil War under Gen. Price, was wounded and taken prisoner and died in prison. The mother of Mr. Palmer died in December. 1887, having reared tive children, three boys and two girls, and our subject was the eldest son and third eldest child in the family.
From the age of five years. Mr. Palmer was reared in Montgomery County on the farm, and remained in the public schools until fifteen. when he finished his education in the Montgomery High School. He remained at home until he was twenty- one years old. then began life himself by becoming the possessor of one hundred and sixty acres of land four miles east of Montgomery City. This he operated for one year and then rented it and made a trip to California. In that State he spent a year near Modesto, and after enjoying a year of travel returned to Montgomery County. Here he farmed for two year-, but in February. 1891. he rented the place and moved into Salisbury to en- gage in the hardware business. forming a partner- ship under the firm name of Luck Bros. & Palmer. This partnership continued for six months. when our subject took Mr. Chapman as a partner and went into the livery business. After four months, however, this partnership was also dissolved and Mr. Palmer bought Mr. Chapman's interest and continued for about two months alone. At the
end of this time he -old one-half of the livery in- terest to a Mr. Evans for a one-half interest in a farm of two hundred acres. seven and one-half miles southeast of Salisbury. The firm name of the livery has been Palmer & Evans ever since. and they rent the farm, which is well improved and stocked.
The livery barn occupied by Palmer & Evans is located on Second Street, occupying 120x50 feet. They have some fine livery horses, among which we may mention two especially so: "Owas Bell Boy." a sorrel four-year-old stallion, stand- ard bred, by "Messenger Gold Dust," and "Owas Cocoanut Boy," a four-year-old thoroughbred stall- ion by "Cocoannt," dam "Logan" by "Way- son." Besides these well-known and valuable stallions. Mr. Palmer owns a number of fine livery and saddle horses and engages in breaking horses. at which he has been very successful. Ile is a stockholder in the People's Bank and is socially a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Salisbury Democratic Club. From the last remark, it is probably not necessary to add that our -uh- ject is an out-and-ont Democrat. The religious denomination that claims Mr. Palmer is the Chris- tian Church. in which he is highly regarded. Ile belongs to the younger element of Salisbury, and if all the young men of the city possessed the energy and vim of our subject it would not be possible to predict the extent of the future growth of the charming little city.
L EMMERICHI. one of the wealthy and successful merchants of the little city of Salisbury, has the honor of being the Treasurer of the Best Hit Tobacco Works. Secretary and Director of the salisbury Opera House, and Secretary of the salisbury Iceberg Park Company. He was born near Mascoutah, St. Clair County, III., May 22. 1859. His father. C. L. Em- meriel, was a native of Germany, and remained in his native land up to the age of twenty-one. dur- ing which time he learned the trade of a shoe- maker. Upon reaching maturity be resolved to
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seek his fortune across the great ocean. in pursu- ance of which resolution he embarked from his native land and arrived in the new country after a safe voyage. His first location was in St. Louis, where he worked at his trade, but he later pur- chased a farm of one hundred acres in Shiloh Val- ley Township, which he operated for fourteen years.
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Mr. Emmerich served as one of the County Commissioners for years and also served as County Judge. From this last office he acquired the title of " Judge," by which he was known throughout the entire county thereafter. This good man died in 1888, at the age of seventy-three years. Throughout his entire life he had been a stanch Republican and served his party upon all occa- sions. The mother of our subject. Annie Emmer- ich, was born in Germany, and died in llinois in 1878. aged sixty-four years. She bore her husband ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity and are still living, and of these our subject is the see- ond youngest.
Our subject was reared on the farm, and, like many other farmer lads, received his education at the common district school, but he had the addi- tional advantage of two years' attendance at the Southern linois Normal, at Carbondale, which he entered at the age of twenty-one. After leaving the Normal he entered the Jacksonville Business College, from which he graduated in Isst. and the following year, in January. 1882. he came to Salis- bury, where a brother and sister were living. Here he bought out Mr. Wood Terrell's general merchan- dise business, on the corner of Second Street and Broadway, and continued the business until 1885. when he built a fine brick store, two stories high and 23x70 feet in dimensions. in which he carried on business until 1892. when he rented the build- ing which he had erected on Broadway and Second Street and built his present brick building on Second Street,in which he is now carrying on a general mer- chandise business, connanding the best trade of the city. He also built a new residence on Broadway. which is surrounded by extensive grounds.
Our subject was active in the building of the Opera House, a fine structure. Tuy100 feet in di- mensions and capable of seating twelve hundred
persons. A nice stage, with all modern improve- ments, makes this one of the best buildings of it- kind in the county. The cost of this structure was 88,500, and Mr. Emnerich was the efficient manager of it for some time and now is Secretary and Director of the company. He was also one of the organizers and Vice-president of the Iceberg Park Company, of which he is now Secretary and Director. The capital stock of this association i- 82.150. Our subject is one of the stockholder- in the Salisbury Building Association, in which he is largely interested. In political matters, Mr. Em- merich is a stanch supporter of the principles and doctrines of the Republican party, as was his father before him.
* The marriage of our subject occurred in Mas- coutah, III., in May, 1882, when he espoused Miss Mary E. Erhardt. a native of that city and a daughter of Mr. Erhardt, a gentleman engaged in the ice business in Mascoutah. Two children a son, Charles C., and an infant daughter. Mary A .. have been born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Em- merich. Mr. Emmerich. although a young man. has been very successful in his business and ha- won the esteem of his fellow-citizens by his hon- esty and straightforwardness in all his dealings.
SA GUNN. The charm of a pleasant home and the possession of a valuable farm truly should place a man in a condition of con- tinuons content, and our subject, who i- the possessor of both, no doubt feels this. He re- sides on section 31, township 51, range 16. Chari- ton County. Mo., his post-office being at Salisbury. lle was born in 1820 in North Carolina. where his father also was born. Thomas and Anna (Mont- gomery ) Gunn were his parents, Sterhng Gunn br- ing his paternal, and Michael Montgomery his ma- ternal, grandfather. Grandfather Gunn was x Revolutionary soldier and a very worthy man. Our subject is one of a family of fourteen children. seven boys and as many girls, six of them living.
Asa Gunn was married in Missouri. in 1816. 10 Cornelia Kitchen, a native of North Carolina, why
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bore him seven children, as follows: Mary E .. wife of a Mr. Oglesby, living in Missouri; II. C., who - chied at the age of twenty-one; T. J .. who married a Miss Potts, who died in Oregon; J. W., living in Chariton County; Moses, who married Mrs. E. A. Adams and is living in Chariton County; Squire, who died at the home of his father; and .1. J., living at home. All of the children were born in Missouri. Our subject received the benefits of instruction in the common schools of Randolph County, Mo., until he was twenty-one, when he engaged in farming upon his father's farm. The ; first piece of land he purchased was one hundred and sixty acres, for which he paid $500, and which he afterward sold.
Mr. Gunn removed to Chariton County in 1847 and bought another one hundred and sixty acres. for which he paid $600. this being partially im- proved. To this he added one hundred and sixty acres more, for which he paid $200. A portion of this he afterward disposed of: so that he now has two hundred and twenty-seven and. one-half aeres in all. Underlying this land, upon which no bet- ter corn and wheat are grown in Missouri, is a vein of coal of very superior quality.
Politically Mr. Gunn is a Democrat, and while in no sense an office-sceker or politician he is deeply interested in public affairs. Ile believes in popu- lar education and has served on the School Board. A good neighbor and a kind friend, he has the respeet and confidence of all who know him.
M ARSILALL W. CRATON, A. B .. M. D. There are few professions that make a greater draft unon the mental. physical . and moral constitution of a man than does that of medicine, and he who is equal to the arduous and urgent calls upon these various parts of his nature must be indeed a very superior man. One of the leading physicians of Carrollton, and probably the one having the largest practice in the city. is the gentleman whose name appears above. He is a native of North Carolina. having been born in Rutherfordton, July 11, 1856.
Our subject is the son of Dr. John M. Craton and a grandson of Isaac Craton, who was of Irish descent. Dr. John Craton received his diploma as an MI. D. in the Charleston Medical College and for many years has been the leading physician in Ruther- fordton. At the age of sixty-nine - years he still enjoys good health and is devoted to his cho-en profession. His wife. our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Williams, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., of Scotch descent and was a daugh- ter of Dr. Mather Williams. Her mother was a daughter of Judge Forman, well known as one of the founders of the city of Syracuse and also one of the first projectors of the Erie Canal. Judge Forman's wife was the daughter of Boyd Alex- ander, of Glasgow, Scotland, a member of Parlia- ment.
The nine children in the Craton family are all living, and of these our subject is the fourth in order of birth. Reared in his native town. at the age of fifteen he entered the preparatory department of Wofford College. Ile later entered the college in the beautiful South Carolina town of Spartan- burgh, which lies just at the foot hills of the Piedmont range of mountains. From this institu- tion he was graduated in 1876 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
After finishing his college course. Dr. Craton spent a year on a farm, and then entered a drug store, where he began the study of medicine. In 1879 he entered the medical department of the University of New York. from which he was gradu- ated in 1882 with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. After completing his studies in the metrop- olis he returned to his native place and practiced there for two years. He then went to MunfordviHe. Ky .. where he practiced for two years.
December 18, 1881. our subject was married in Munfordville to Miss Mary Belle Smith, a native of that place, who was graduated from Franklin Female College. The year after their marriage they came to Missouri and settled in Carrollton. where the Doctor formed a partnership with E. A. Wagner, at that time the leading physician of the city. This partnership continued for one year. when they took separate offices. Dr. Craton now enjoys undoubtedly the largest practice in the city.
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Hle is a skilled surgeon and a sympathetic physi- cian. Doctor and Mrs. Craton have a very pleasant residence on North Main Street, which was erected under their personal supervision. The family in- cludes one daughter, whose name is Mabel Dixon. In religious work they are associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In politics the Doctor is a Democrat. He belongs to the Grand River District of the Medical Association, the County Medical Society, and is also a mem- ber of the Board of Health of Carrollton. The Doctor's office is located on Folger Street, opposite the Florence Hotel.
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7 LEXANDER R. CAWTHIRON. It is a Pleasure to trace the history of the early pioneers of any community, who have persevered through trials and hardships and at last reached the point where they could enjoy the wealth and prosperity so richly earned. Such a man was Asa W. Cawthron, the father of the subject of this sketch. The family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and the first member of it to come to America located in Virginia. where Asa W. Cawthron was born on the ist of January, 1796. After the removal of the family to Ken- tucky they resided in Clark and Madison Counties, and while on Blue Grass soil Asa W. married Eliza Canote, daughter of Amos Canote, a Pennsylvan- ian of German descent, but at that time a resident of Clark County. Ky: Ile eventually passed from life in Howard County, Mo.
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In addition to learning the art of farming, Asa W. Cawthron also learned the trade of wheel- wright, and. as stated in the sketch of J. E. M. Triplett, he was in the War of 1812. After resid- ing for some time in Howard County. Mo .. whither he moved in 1825. he purchased land four miles east of Carrollton, on which he resided until his death in 1881. The surviving members of his family are: Nancy. Mrs. Triplett; Harriet. Mrs. Smart; and Alexander R .. the youngest of the family.
Alexander R. Cawthron is a product of Howard
County, Mo., his birth occurring October 18. 1838. after which he was taken to Livingston County by his parents. When in his ninth year, he moved to Carroll County with them, and here he attended the common schools during the winter months. also the subscription schools. which were in vogue at that time. his summers being devoted to tilling the soil. He continued to make his home with his parents until he attained his majority, and at the age of twenty-three years was married to Miss Emily E. Quisenberry, daughter of R. H. Quisen- berry. From this time until the spring of 1863. he worked on land belonging to his father. Ile then rented a Missouri River Bottom farm in the vicinity of Buffington's Landing, but after a very short time returned to his father's farm. In the spring of 1864, he rented a farm one-half mile north of his old home. The following fall he proceeded to Mt. Sterling, Ill., only to again re- turn to Missouri in October, 1865, taking up his residence in Chariton County on the 18th of that monthi.
At the opening of the Civil War onr subjeet joined a cavalry company under Coi. Robertson, but while on the way to join Gen. Price he nar- rowly escaped capture by the Federals and was only saved by being out with a scouting party. Hle succeeded in making his way to Buffington's Landing, in the vicinity of which place he stopped at a house for breakfast. While it was being pre- pared he glanced through the window and saw some Federal cavalry coming. He at once left the house and took refuge in some tall weeds. while the Federals went in and devoured the breakfast that had been prepared for him. After about two hours they went away. when Mr. Cawthron came from his place of concealment. He was at one time arrested by Union soldiers and was kept in captiv- ity on the Missouri River Bottom until it was found that he had the measles, when he was re- leased and returned home, where he was at death's door for some time from the effects of exposure while that disease was in progress. .
Upon his return to Missouri from linois in the fall of 1865, he rented a farm of Philip Hooper for two years at $100 per year, at the end of which time he moved on the Gandy farm, a year
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later purchasing forty acres of land near that place. In 1871, he came to Triplett. purchased a lot and erected thereon a house. The succeeding five years were spent as a fisherman on the Grand River, and during this time he employed a man to assist him. He used nets of various kinds, hauling his fish in wagons to different towns through ut the country, but when the Wabash Railroad was built, he began shipping by rail as well as by wagon. He has sold as high as 875 worth of fish a day, and in this manner obtained a start. After a time he spent one year in buying cattle. then opened a dry-goods and grocery store in Triplett, and after successfully conducting this es- tablishment for about two years, he sold out and once more began dealing in cattle, in which bus- iness his profits were very large. From 1880 to 1883, he not only bought stock but also dealt in grain. At the last-mentioned date he be- gan purchasing mule colts and raising them for the market. At the end of two years he sold his house and lot and. removed to two acres of land which he had purchased some time previously, and on which he is now living. For this he paid $50 per acre, and later he purchased sixteen acres adjoining. In November, 1880, he made a purchase of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land adjoining his other property and several houses and lots in Triplett. Ilis land is all in grass and is devoted to his stock. which he has found to be a very profitable and satisfactory business, and he has an immense barn, capable of holding one hundred mules. He has at various times made additional purchases of land, and is now the owner of five hundred and sixty- one acres in Chariton County (less one hundred and twenty-seven and one-half acres which he sold February 1. 1893. at 840 per acre) the farthest be- ing three and a-half miles from Triplett. All his land which is under cultivation he rents out.
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Mr. Cawthron's children are: Lelia C., wife of .J. A. Smith, of Triplett: Mary E., widow of Dr. Arthur J. Norvell, of Slater. Mo., by whom she has one child, a daughter, named Arthur Leah Norvell: Arthur IL., who is in Colorado; and Nannie R., who is at home attending school. Lelia C. attended the Christian University, of Canton. Mo .; Mary E. has attended Hardin College. of Mexico.
Mo., and is a school teacher of this section; Arthur is a graduate of the Gem City Business College, of Quincy, Ill. Mr. Cawthron is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Honor, and for the past three years has been an active worker in the Democratic party. the prineipie- of which he has always upheld. Hle is a stockholder and Vice-president of the Farm- ers' Bank of Triplett, and what he has in the way of worldly goods is the result of his own good management and undeviating industry. Ile is an expert marksman, and is an A 1 shot with the ritle. ITis career thus far in life has been an hon- orable and prosperous one and without doubt wil! continue to remain so.
Mrs. Cawthron's family came from Virginia, in which State her father, Richard H. Quisenberry, was born. After the death of his father he came with his mother to saliue County, Mo .. where her career was closed. He now resides five miles east of Carrollton. He was married in Missouri to Miss Constantia Monroe, a Kentuckian. who died when Mrs. Cawthron was about six years of age. Mr. Quisenberry was one of the gold-seekers of Ist9. and upon his return home bought land near his present place of residence. He has been a succe --- ful farmer, and although nearly seventy-five years of age is still active. His second wife was a sister of Mr. Cawthron. His first union resulted in the following children: Mary E .. who died at the age of abont twenty years; Emily E., Mrs. Cawthron; Arthur. in the stock commission business in Kansas City: and Leonidas. deceased, who was a lawyer of Carrollton, To his second union were given: An- nie. wife of J. Kinniard; Thomas, Mattie, Jennie (deceased ), George, Edward and Fredonia.
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