USA > Missouri > Johnson County > Portrait and biographical record of Johnson and Pettis counties, Missouri ; containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 16
USA > Missouri > Pettis County > Portrait and biographical record of Johnson and Pettis counties, Missouri ; containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 16
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On the 4th of January, 1863, the Ohio reg- iment was at Beaufort, N. C., thence were ordered to Newbern, and from there went to Port Roy- al, S. C., arriving there on the 31st of Jan- uary. They remained on the boat, however, and disembarked at St. Helena Island, S. C., February 28, returning by a steamer to Coal Island April 3. Three days later they were at Morris Island, where they had an engagement and captured fourteen of the enemy's guns, besides other implements of war. They assaulted Ft. Wagner, July 18, 1863, and lost heavily. The regiment then took part in the siege of Ft. Charleston, which lasted from July 10 to October 31. On the 2d of November they returned to St. Helena Island, and in January, 1864, the greater part of the regiment re-enlisted, when our subject, who also entered the service again as a veteran volunteer, was given a thirty-days furlough and returned home.
Mr. Phillips rejoined his regiment February 22, at Washington, D. C., and March 25 was at Camp Grant, three days later going into camp one mile and a-half from Fairfax. Without fol- lowing this important command through the va- rious details and severe experiences of subsequent months, it is sufficient to say that the Sixty-sec- ond Ohio was among the noted regiments of the Union army and made a record to be proud of. The regiment took part in the prominent battles which decided the issues of the war up to the sur- render of Lee, and was under the following com- mands, which also shows the great scope of its fighting: Generals Brooks, McDowell, Keys, Dix, Peck, Foster, Hunter, Gilmore, Burney, Gibbon, Ord, Butler, MacClellan, Meade and Grant. On the 8th of November, when voting for President, one hundred and seventy-six votes were cast in this regiment for Lincoln and seventy-five for MacClellan.
Our subject was with his regiment nearly all- the time and in active service. The extent of his army experiences may best be shown by men- tioning the battles in which he took part, not in- cluding, however, the skirmishes through which his regiment passed. They were Harrison Land- ing, Va., July 4, 1862; Blackwater, December 13, 1862; Harrison Landing, S. C., July 10, 1863; Ft. Wagner and other engagements in that vicin- ity in 1863; Bermuda Hundred, Va., January 16 and 17, 1864; Strawberry Plains, August 14, 1864; Deep Black River, Va., August 16, 1864; Darby- town Road, October 13, 1864; Hatcher's Farm, November 18, 1864; Ft. Gregg, Va., April 2, 1865; Rice Station, Va., April 6, 1865; and Appo- mattox, April 9, 1865. He was wounded January 10, 1864, near Petersburg. February 17 of the following year he was appointed Corporal of his company, and April 9 was taken prisoner, but was soon paroled.
Our subject after the close of the war returned to Cambridge a physical wreck after his long con- tinued and hard service. He lived in Cambridge until the spring of the following year, when he moved to Illinois and located on a farm in Dong- las County. He later removed to Johnson Coun- ty, Kan., locating on an estate near Olathe, where
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he was married, and subsequently inoved to a farm six miles north of this city. There he re- sided for two years, when lie came to his present home.
Mr. Phillips was married to Miss Melvina E. Ferguson, a native of Missouri, whose mother is still living in Holden. To them were born six children, namely: Minnie May; Walter F., who married Laura Masters; Mary E., Viola N., Nellie V. and Eula A. In politics Mr. Phillips is a strong Republican, and belongs to Winfield Scott Post No. 63, at Holden. He is honored as an old soldier, good citizen, prominent farmer and an upright man.
HARLES E. NEWELL, who has the repu- tation of being one of the most skilled machinists in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, was born in Rochester, Strafford County, N. H., in 1840. The family has long been identified with the history of the United States, and his paternal great-great-grand- father, who was a manufacturer of cotton goods, participated actively in the War of the Revolution. Grandfather Newell, whose Christian name was Daniel, was born in Massachusetts, and by occu- pation was a cotton manufacturer, being thus engaged both in the Bay State and in Rochester, N. H. In the War of 1812 he served as a drum- mer. His death occurred at the age of eighty- four years.
The father of our subject, Thompson L. Newell, was born in Oxbridge, Mass., and engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods at Rochester for some years. In 1847 he removed to Exeter, thence to Manchester, and at an advanced age died in Concord, his remains being interred in a cemetery at Manchester. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army, and took part in the first battle of Bull Run. On his return home
he became Captain of a company of the Fourthi New Hampshire Infantry, and went South with them, but the second season he was obliged to re- sign on account of physical disability. He was a Grand Army member, and a Republican in poli- tics. Socially he was a Mason, and in religious belief belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died at the age of eighty-five years.
Sophia Tebbetts, as the mother of our subject was known in maidenhood, was born in New Hampshire, and through her mother traced her ancestry to the Hoyts, who were numbered among the original English settlers on American soil. Her great-great-grandfather Hoyt was a manufacturer by occupation and participated in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Sophia Newell died at the age of seventy-seven years. She reared eight children, and was justly proud of the fact that four of her sons were brave defend- ers of the Old Flag. LaFayette was a soldier in a Massachusetts infantry company, usually known as the "Bloody Sixth; " George belonged to the Tenth New Hampshire Infantry; Daniel was Drum-Major of the Second New Hampshire In- fantry; and Samuel, who was a dragoon in the Second Cavalry, took part in thirty-eight battles. All the sons served until the expiration of their period of enlistment, and all are still living.
The subject of this notice was reared in Man- chester until seventeen years of age, meantime attending the public and high schools. In 1857 he went to Dubuque, Iowa, and from there to Iowa City, where he was employed in surveying. For six months he was similarly engaged in Nebraska, and then went to Pike's Peak, where he prospected for sixteen months. Going further South, he volunteered in New Mexico against the Navajoe Indians, whom he assisted in rout- ing. From Santa Fe he returned to Colorado, where he resumed work in the mines. In the fall of 1862 he returned to his old home, driving back with a mule team over the prairies to Omaha, and journeying by stage from there to St. Joseph, Mo., where he took the steam cars for New Hampshire.
For three years after his return home, Mr. Newell was serving an apprenticeship to the ma-
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chinist's trade in Manchester. In 1866 he went to Chicago, and for ten years was employed in the shops of the Rock Island Road. At the request of the Master Mechanic of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, in 1876 he accepted a position in the Sedalia shops, and, coming to this city, has since made it his home. At the time of the consolidation, in 1881, he became an employe of the Missouri Pacific Road, and was first toolman in the shops and later foreman for a time.
The residence now occupied by Mr. Newell was erected by himself, and is situated at No. 1008 Massachusetts Street. He was married at Boonville, August 15, 1881, to Miss Christine Oman, a native of Sweden, and a daughter of Peter Oman, a farmer of this county. She was reared in Missouri, and is an amiable, refined lady, and an active member of the Baptist Church. There are two daughters, Ida and Leah, both of whom are students of the Sedalia schools.
In 1886 Mr. Newell was elected Alderman for the Third Ward on the Republican ticket, and during his two years' service in that capacity was Chairman of the Waterworks Committee, and was also on the Fire Department and the Finance Committees. He has been officially connected with Sedalia Lodge No. 170, A. O. U. W., and is also a Master Mason. His skill as a mechanic has been the means of securing for him the con- fidence of the officials of the road, and he is recog- nized as one of the most practical and capable mechanics in the state.
OHN P. McCOY is the fortunate possessor of one of the best farins to be found within the bounds of Johnson County. It lies on sec- tion 2, township 47, range 27, and consists of two hundred and thirty acres. The owner is a prac- tical and thorough business man, and owes to his own well directed energies his rise to a position of prominence and independence.
The tenth in a family of twelve children, our subject was born in Greenbrier County, Va., September 14, 1820, his parents being William and Agnes (Hanna) McCoy. The former was a farmer by occupation, and though he was com- pelled to endure many hardships and privations made a good living for his large family and met with a fair measure of success. He was a man of undaunted will and ambition, and lived to attain the good old age of eighty years.
In the primitive schools of his boyhood John P. McCoy acquired a general knowledge of ele- mentary branches. He was brought up on a farm, early becoming accustomed to the duties pertaining thereto, and very naturally chose the same business for his life's vocation. As the old homestead comprised several hundred acres, he helped in its cultivation, and year by year assumed more responsibility, until the entire management devolved on his shoulders. Though the trust reposed in him would have been more than many a man would have cared to undertake, lie was equal to the task, and brought forth gratifying results.
In 1855, after his father's death, our subject wedded Rebecca A. McFerran, who died only four years afterward, leaving two children. Floyd, a well known farmer of this township, married Amanda McCoy, since deceased, and who bore him four children. Virginia became the wife of Jerry McCoy, a carpenter and farmer of St. Clair County, Mo. In 1860 Mr. McCoy married Sarah E. Watts, a lady of a pleasant, cheerful disposi- tion, who has been a faithful companion and helpmate. The following children have been the result of their union: William and Thomas, 110w helping on the home farm; Warren, a well-to-do farmer of Hazle Hill Township, and whose wife was formerly a Miss Gibson; Newman, who also married Miss Gibson, and is an agriculturist of the same locality as is his next elder brother; and Edgar, the youngest. The latter is about twenty years of age, and is still at home.
After his father's estate was settled, Mr. Mc- Coy bought out the other heirs and continued to cultivate the place until 1870, his mother making her home with him. Then selling out, he moved
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to Missouri, and after a few months' stay in La- fayette County purchased his present home. His family are members of the Methodist Church, and stand high in the esteem of all who know them. In political matters he is an advocate of the Democracy. During his long residence here he has gained the friendship of his neighbors and acquaintances by his manly and straightforward career.
M ARTIN V. B. PAIGE is at present holding the office of Justice of the Peace of Green Ridge. In 1889 he was appointed Post- master, under Harrison's administration, and for four years was the popular and efficient incum- bent of that office. He was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., October 29, 1842, and was the second in order of birth of the family born unto Anson and Mary J. ( Flanders) Paige.
The father of our subject was born in Vermont, but left his native state when a young man and re- moved to New York. His good wife, the moth- er of Martin, was born in New Hampshire, where she was reared to womanhood and where she be- came fairly well educated.
Squire Paige had just passed his eighteenth year when the tocsin of war resounded through the land. Being fired with the spirit of patriotism, he donned the blue and enlisted in Company C, Ninety-second New York Infantry, being mus- tered in at Potsdam, N. Y., in September, 1861. He was in active service for four and a-half years, during that time participating in all of the many engagements in which his regiment took part. After a service of three years he re-enlisted and was transferred to Company D, Ninety-sixth New York Infantry. The same day he was transferred he was taken prisoner by the enemy and for two weeks was confined in Libby Prison. He was then sent to Salisbury, N. C., and for four months was there retained as a prisoner of war. The reader doubtless knows something
of the treatment and cruelty to which the Union soldiers were subjected, and the exposures and hardships which Mr. Paige endured greatly un- dermined his health, and he has not been robust and strong since that time. He was just on the eve of being commissioned Lieutenant of a new company when taken prisoner, but upon rejoining his regiment he was promoted to be Sergeant and on being mustered out was made Commissary- Sergeant. Although the war was at an end some months previously, he was not mustered out until February, 1866, his regiment having been re- tained to do guard duty.
On returning to New York State, Mr. Paige passed some time in visiting among his relatives and friends. March 4, 1866, he bade them adieu, and, emigrating westward, located at once in Green Ridge. He carried on a farm near this place for a number of years, but owing to ill- health was obliged to abandon this kind of labor, and moved into the village of Green Ridge in 1883. He owns a comfortable home here and with his estimable companion is prepared to spend his declining years in the ease and enjoy- ment which he so much deserves.
Squire Paige was married, in 1865, to Miss Marilla, daughter of Rufus and Diantha F. (Ir- win) Austin. Both the Irwin and Austin fami- lies were quite prominent in the East. Mrs. Paige died two years after her marriage, and in 1869 our subject chose for his second companion Miss Mariette P. Austin, a sister of his first wife. Eight children were born of this union, of whom the eldest, Sophronia, is deceased. David E. is a resident of Lamonte, this state. The others are Charles A., Ora E., Dora, Lucia, George H. and Roy, all of whom are at home with their parents. Both Mr. and Mrs. Paige are members in good standing of the Congregational Church
Squire Paige, although having been in public life for many years, maintains an unblemished reputation as a man of integrity and honor. He is an uncompromising Republican in politics, and for many years served the people as Constable and Justice of the Peace, being the incumbent of the latter office at the present time. While Post- master he was popular in his official capacity,
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discharging the duties of the position with char- acteristic fidelity and to the satisfaction of all concerned. Socially he is a member of the An- cient Order of United Workmen, and as a Grand Army man belongs to E. D. Baker Post No. 68.
AMUEL C. GRAHAM, one of the exten- tive land-owners of Johnson County, is a worthy representative of one of her old and honored families. He has owned and carried on his present farm for upwards of fifty-five years, but the original one hundred and sixty acres which he entered in 1840 is now only a part of his possessions, which now number over eight hundred acres. He may well be proud of his success, for he has been unassisted save by his faithful and thrifty wife, who was called to the home beyond July 3, 1889, and whose loss has been deeply mourned among her many old friends and neighbors.
Since 1834 the Grahams have been closely as- sociated with the development and welfare of this section. Robert, the father of our subject, served on the first grand jury convened in this county, the court being held under some elm trees, on the old Nicholas Haux Farm, near Columbus. Later he represented the Democratic party as Associate Judge and Assessor of the county. He was a native of Virginia, and was born in 1780, but his parents were of Irish birth. They left the Emner- ald Isle a short time before the War of the Revo- lution and settled in the Old Dominion. When the Colonies proclaimed their independence, the father shouldered his gun and fought in the cause of freedom. Robert Graham, on reaching man's estate, wedded Catherine Crockett, who was born at Crockett's Cove. In 1833 the couple, with their family and a few household effects, started over- land, bound for this state. At the end of a forty- two-days journey, they stopped in Boone County, Mo., where they spent the following winter. Sub-
sequently they became residents of this county, spending the remainder of their lives on a place three miles west of Hazle Hill. With the ex- ception of a few months spent in merchandising in old Virginia, Mr. Graham's life was devoted to farming. Both he and his wife were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Fra- ternally he was long a member of the Masonic order.
Samuel C. Graham is one of six children, and the eldest of his father's family. Mary E. is the wife of Nathan A. Fields, of Henry County; James J. is the third in the family now living; and Margaret A. is the widow of John Scott, and now makes her home in Henry County. Robert C. and John G. are deceased. The former, who was born in 1818, was a successful farmer of this county, and died at the age of fifty-two years. John G. is mentioned at greater length in the sketch of Robert B. Graham, which appears else- where in this work.
A native of Black Lick, Wythe County, Va., our subject was born December 14, 1814. He received a common-school education, and was eighteen years of age, when with his parents he emigrated westward. He was of great assistance to his father in clearing his land and making rails for fences. He continued to live under the pa- rental roof until twenty-six years of age, learn- ing lessons of industry, thrift and economy, which stood him in good stead in his subsequent life work. In 1837, when the Osage Indian War broke out, he and his brother Robert C. took their muskets and fought until the termination of hostilities, and in 1838, during the Mormon troubles, our subject's services were once more called into requisition. Good teachers were scarce in Missouri when Mr. Graham arrived here, and he taught in the subscription schools of both Boone and Johnson Counties for a number of terms. In 1840 he invested the money which he had carefully saved from his salary in one hun- dred and sixty acres, a portion of his present home- stead. His advancement from this time onward was sure, and prosperity usually crowned his labors.
March 26, 1840, a marriage ceremony was per-
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formed by which Margaret, daughter of James and Rachel (Barnett) Hobson, became the wife of our subject. To them were born nine chil- dren, of whom all but three are yet living. John H., the eldest, is a successful farmer of Chilliowee Township. His first wife was a Miss Alice Woolery, and to them were born two children. The lady who now bears his name was formerly Miss Sarah McFarland. Robert C., who is now managing his father's farm with ability, married Josie White, by whom he has one child. Nancy E. is the wife of W. W. Marr, a successful farm- er and dealer in livestock in Arkansas. J. Crock- ett, who is numbered among the progressive farmers of Bates County, Mo., married Miss Kate White, by whom he has three children. Samuel B., an enterprising young farmer of this county, married Laura Glass, and has one child. William A. married Lula Glass, and like his elder broth- ers is giving his attention to agricultural pursuits.
In his political affiliations, Samuel C. Graham is a supporter of the Democracy. His reminis- cences of pioneer days are deeply interesting. He well remembers when he has seen a herd of fifty deer only a short distance from the home. For forty-five years he has been a devoted member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and his name is always found among the subscribers to worthy charities. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic society. A man of jovial disposition and genial manner, he has won hosts of friends among all classes.
UDGE W. H. NICHOLS, of Sedalia, who is now serving as Judge of the Probate Court of Pettis County, was born in Seneca County, Ohio, at the old Rock Creek Mill in Tif- fin, on the 13th of August, 1836, and is a son of Daniel K. Nichols, a native of Berkeley County, W. Va. The father emigrated to Ohio in 1831., moving with horse and wagon, and began milling in the old Rock Creek Mill, near which he lived
in a stone house, one of the first built in that lo- cality. Later, however, in 1842, he went to Lower Sandusky, and engaged in milling; but ten years later located near Ft. Seneca, Seneca County, Ohio, where with a partner he operated a mill until his death, which occurred in 1858, at the age of fifty-five years. Formerly he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but later in life became a Universalist. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Susan Rhineberger, was born in Berkeley County, W. Va., and was a daughter of Henry Rhineberger, who was of German descent, and died in Ohio at the age of seventy-five. Mrs. Nichols passed away in 1866, at the age of fifty-six, a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children, but only three are yet living.
Judge Nichols, the youngest of the family, was reared to manhood in Seneca and Sandusky Counties, where his primary education was re- ceived, though he later attended Heidelberg Col- lege for two years. On completing his literary course he began teaching, which profession he followed for two terms. He then worked with his father in the mill for two years, when, in 1857, he started for California, going by way of New York and the Panama route to Orleans Flat, on the Yuba River. Later he went to near Truckee Lake, where he was employed during the sum- mer, but the following spring we find him at the Frazier River. After returning to Jackson, Cal., he prospected there for several months, and later was employed by a lumber firm as a bookkeeper and collector for three years. He then clerked in a general store in Jackson until the fire of 1863, when he went to the copper mines, where he en- gaged in prospecting, meeting with excellent success. On the Ist of January, 1864, he re- turned to Ohio by the same route as he had left it.
In July of the same year, Mr. Nichols enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and the company was organized at Camp Chase. He was mustered in for one year's service, and with the regiment pro- ceeded to Deckerdtown, Tenn., guarding Sher- man's rear. From there they went to Columbia,
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from which place they returned, later embarking by rail and steamer for Camp Stoneman. On the voyage the measles broke out and many of the regiment died. At Newbern, N. C., they were engaged in guarding the railroad, the regiment being a part of the Twenty-third Corps, com- manded by General Schofield, but later by Gen- eral Ruger. They participated in the engage- ment at Kingston, where they lost heavily, and then joined Sherman, assisting in the capture of General Jolinston. They were then sent to Char- lotte, N. C., where they remained until mustered out of service. Mr. Nichols was first Orderly- Sergeant, but later was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant of Company B, One Hundred and Eightieth Volunteer Infantry. He saw much hard service, but was never in the hospital for a single day, and valiantly aided his country in the defense of the Union.
On his return to Ohio, in July, 1865, he bought an interest in a mill, which he operated until the spring of 1868, when he sold out and by team and wagon came to Missouri. He had no desti- nation in view, but as Sedalia pleased him, he de- cided here to locate, when it was a thriving little town with but one bank and a few stores. Pur- chasing a farm in Washington Township, he con- tinued its improvement and cultivation until the spring of 1888, when he located in the city, but still owns that place, which is a valuable tract of one hundred and seven acres.
At Ft. Seneca, Ohio, in 1866, Mr. Nichols wedded Miss Janet E. Abbott, a native of that place and a daughter of Lorenzo Abbott, the lat- ter of whom was born in Massachusetts, but came from New York to Ohio in 1820. By this union have been born three children: Edith and Janet, who are at home; and Raymond Henry, who at- tends the public schools.
At one time Mr. Nichols served as Deputy-As. sessor of Sedalia, and in 1890 was inade register clerk in the postoffice, being appointed by Cap- tain Demuth. He continued under that gentle- man for four years, during which time he was al- ways on duty, never missing a single day. In the fall of 1894 he was elected Probate Judge of Pettis County, which office he is now filling with
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