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 44
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 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
April 26, 1856, Mr. Bates married Sarah C. Hulse, who was born in Orange County, N. Y., October 1, 1834, and who grew to womanhood there, receiving a good education. She was a daughter of Hezekiah and Elsie (Hulse) Hulse, and about a year before her marriage to our sub- ject went to live with a brother in Wisconsin. In 1861 Mr. Bates enlisted in Company B, Four- teenth Wisconsin Infantry, and was made Third Sergeant of the company. As he had formerly been in the drug business and was fairly acquaint- ed with medical appliances, and as he was also physically incapacitated for active work, he was assigned to hospital duties, and in the last of De- cember received a certificate of disability and re- turned home. Later, in 1862, General Halleck issued his order requiring all who were at home on such certificates to report at headquarters, and accordingly Mr. Bates went to Madison, Wis., thence was sent to Cairo, Ill., where he was ex- amined. The authorities bade him go to Mound City for his discharge papers, but he was there in- formed that they were under orders not to let him off, and sent him to the hospital at Mound City. On passing through the dispensary there, Mr. Bates hastily came to the conclusion that if he must remain in the hospital he would prefer to be in the drug department. On applying for a posi- tion, he was informed that they were in need of just such a man, and he continued there from Sep- tember until November. His wife then applied to the Wisconsin state authorities for the $5 per
371
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
month which was then allowed to soldiers' wives and she was informed that his name was not on the roll. Some correspondence resulted, and Mr. Bates, having written to the Adjutant-General of Wisconsin, received word from him that he (Mr. Bates) must report at the front immediately. The doctor in charge of the hospital did not wish to lose his services and dictated a letter to that ef- fect, but it proved of no avail. Mr. Bates was then obliged to go to Corinth, but lo, when he presented himself to be mustered in he was re- fused, as his name was not on the roll. Many efforts were made to have this matter straightened out, but there seemed to be no one with the proper authority, and at length, on appealing to General Grant, our subject was informed that he was en- titled to his pay, but would have to get it through the Wisconsin state department. He was sent home, and after applying to the Governor, that gentleman requested him to send in his papers, saying that he would look the matter up, but in the press of his duties he neglected to do this, and finally lost the aforesaid papers. Thus Mr. Bates has never been able to get a discharge or to draw any money. He is convinced that the officers thought his certificate of disability amounted to a discharge and did not report his name.
In 1868 Mr. Bates moved to Sedalia, from there to Pleasant Hill, and finally to Holden, where he bought twenty acres of land. He built several houses, which he sold and succeeded fairly well in his real-estate transactions. Afterwards he en- gaged in the furniture business, and then com- menced taking contracts for building houses in Holden and vicinity. In this line of work he con- tinued until 1884, in the mean time being also engaged in the grocery business with J. J. Wright, his son-in-law. In 1884 the two partners went to Norris, Henry County, where they conducted a general merchandising establishment until 1891, when Mr. Bates sold out on account of his health. He is the owner of forty acres in Holden, and a farm of one hundred and twenty acres near that village. He also owns property in Latour, where he is now making his home, besides a good store building in Chilhowee, the best in this part of the county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bates were born three chil- dren, namely: Alice, who married J. M. Moore, by whom she has two children, and is now a resi- dent. of Holden; Minnie B., Mrs. J. J. Wright, of Latour, and the mother of three children; and Adela, who married R. W. Duffield, of Warrens- burg, and has two children. Socially Mr. Bates has been a member of the Sons of Temperance for several years, and is connected with the Union League. Originally a Free Soiler, he voted for Fremont in 1856 and continued to support the Republican party until the Greenback party came into existence. For a time lie adhered to its teachings, but now is a People's party man. While living in Wisconsin he was twice elected Town- ship Assessor, and once held that office in Kan- sas, but aside from this has managed to keep out of a public career.
EORGE E. GOODWIN is the owner of one hundred and fifty acres of very fine land, with valuable improvements, most of which he has made himself. This farm was located on section 4, township 45, range 27, Johnson County. When he purchased this tract it was a stubble field and bore little promise of what it might eventually become under proper management. The owner has spared himself no trouble in the development of the farm, and success now crowns his efforts. He possesses good business ability and is very methodical in all his affairs.
The birth of our subject occurred November II, 1855, in Macoupin County, Ill. He attended Pleasant Hill School, near his home, more or less until he was twenty years of age, but a large por- tion of his time was spent in assisting his father, John Goodwin, to manage the old farm. When little past his majority he was elected Road Over- seer of the district, discharging his duties faith- fully. A sketch of his parents, John and Eliza- beth (Wood) Goodwin, may be found in the bi- ography of his brother, John T. Goodwin, which is printed elsewhere in this volume.
372
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
On Christmas Day, 1877, George E. Goodwin married Emma, daughter of William and Mary (Hand) Cruikshank, natives of Scotland and Eng- land, respectively. The former served a seven- years apprenticeship to the tailor's trade, and after coming to the United States engaged in stone masonry. During the Mexican War he enlisted as a member of an Illinois regiment and went to the front. He makes his home near Bunker Hill, but his wife died August 8, 1891. Her parents located in Madison County, Ill., near the Goodwin family, at an early day. For years Mr. Cruikshank was Street Commissioner. Both he and his wife have been members of the Baptist Church for a long period. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin has been blessed with three children, Mary E., Oscar H. and Thirsa J.
The first housekeeping experience of Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin was on a tract of rented land in Shelby County, Ill., this farm being the property of his father. Six years later the young couple moved to this county, and from that time until the present have lived on the farm now owned by Mr. Goodwin. They are members of the Chris- tian Church of Center View, and socially are con- nected with the Degree of Honor. For four years our subject has been Recorder of Center View Lodge, A. O. U. W., being one of the charter members, and takes much interest in the society. He has never been on the witness stand and has never served on a jury. Politically he supports the Democratic party by his ballot.
RANK A. GOODWIN, a son of John and Elizabeth M. (Wood) Goodwin, was born on his father's farm in Macoupin County, Ill., January 16, 1862, and came to make his home in this county in August, 1884. Locating on his father's farm four miles south of Center View, he engaged in its cultivation uninterrupt- edly until March 1, 1888, when he moved to
Kansas City and for a year was employed by a retail grocery firm. For the next two years he was city salesman for a wholesale oil firm, but during this time his thoughts were frequently dwelling on the Johnson County farm, and he at length concluded to return. The farm on which he now resides is two miles east of Holden, this tract also belonging to his father. He has made many improvements on the place and has been very successful.
In his youth our subject worked on his father's farm in the summers and attended school in the winter season. He made the best of his advant- ages and became well informed on general ques- tions of practical and business importance. De- cember 26, 1883, he married Josie, daughter of Jerry Moore, who was a native of New Jersey. Mrs. Goodwin was born in Illinois, and became the mother of three children, Mand, Leslie and Elizabeth, of whom the last-named died in in- fancy. The parents are members of the Method- ist Church of Holden. Fraternally Mr. Goodwin is connected with the Kansas City Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and was a charter member of the lodge at Center View. In politics he has been a life-long Democrat.
ILLIAM DOCK was long one of the best esteemed and public-spirited men of John- son County, owning a well improved farm on section 13, township 46, range 29, which at the time of his demise was one of the best in the county. He was a very progressive agricultur- ist, and was not averse to accepting new and practical ideas in regard to the management of his farm, though he did not neglect any of the tried and established methods.
Our subject, who was born in Cumberland County, Pa., in 1828, was fairly well educated, but, being trained to farm life by his honored fa- ther, was well instructed in this vocation when he began life for himself. During the gold excite-
373
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ment of 1848, our subject crossed the plains to California, and for two years was engaged in min- ing. The journey was fraught with many perils, and was tedious in the extreme, although the success with which he met amply rewarded him for the undertaking. From the Pacific Coast he boarded a vessel bound for Australia, and after a voyage filled with adventures was landed on that island, where it was his intention to also enter the gold mines. He remained there for a time, and on his return home came by way of New York.
Prior to the war our subject settled on the place which is now owned and managed by his widow. At that time he entered three hundred acres from the Government, and from that time until the outbreak of the Civil War made liis home within the limits of this county, with whose welfare he was ever afterward associated.
During the war, when his country needed his assistance, Mr. Dock enlisted in Captain Dun- can's Home Guards, which was attached to the militia, and for three years rendered valiant serv- ice. His first marriage united him with Mary May, and after her death he chose for his second companion Nancy Reeves, who makes her home at present on the home farm. By the first mar- riage there were born a son and daughter, Will- iam and Mary E., both of whom are deceased. The nine children resulting from his union with Miss Reeves were Julia, Mattie, Laura, Stephen, Effie, Louisa, James, Jacob and Joseph. Of these, Julia married Samuel Leach, and makes her home in this county. Their family includes the fol- lowing-named children: Eula, Dock, May, Goldie and William. Mattie is now Mrs. Charles Wall, and lives one-quarter of a mile from the home of her mother. Her family comprises Stephen, Beu- lah and Bessie. Laura became the wife of James Underwood, and their three children are Effie, Robert and Joseph; they make their home in this county, two miles from the home of Mrs. Dock. The remaining members of the family are at home, with the exception of James, who is de- ceased.
Mrs. Nancy E. Dock was born December 25, 1841, in North Carolina, and is the daughter of
John and Sally Reeves. She is a most agree- able and pleasant lady, and on the demise of her husband, which occurred about fifteen years ago, she took upon herself the management of the large estate left in her care. She has given her children good educations, and Effie is now en- gaged in teaching in the vicinity of her home. The sons and daughters early identified them- selves with the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which Mrs. Dock is also connected.
Although prior to the war a Democrat, our subject after leaving the service voted for Repub- lican candidates until the time of his decease. He was public-spirited, took a deep interest in the cause of education, and was foremost in any en- terprise which would in any way benefit the community in which he lived.
AMES NAY, of Holden, is an active Repub- lican, and was elected City Marshal in De- cember, 1894, on the Republican ticket, to fill out an unexpired term. In April, 1895, he was re-elected for one year. In 1892 he was honor- ed with the position of Constable, serving in that capacity until the fall of 1894. He took the cen- sus of Jackson Township, Johnson County, in 1890, and in these various offices has given entire satisfaction to all concerned. Oftentimes he has been sent as a delegate to county conventions of his party, and was present at the congressional convention which convened at Greenfield, Dade County, Mo.
James Nay, Sr., was a native of Marion Coun- ty, Va., and was a farmer and trader in the town of Worthington during the '40s. With his only brother, Enoch, he enlisted in the Southern army, and in 1863 was taken prisoner. On being paroled at Camp Chase, Ohio, he returned home and re- sumed his former pursuits. His brother, who was in the same company, was three times wounded, twice in the right arm and once in the chest. In 1864 he fell into the hands of the Fed-
374
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
erals and was held a prisoner at Camp Chase. He is now living in Calhoun County, W. Va. The wife of James Nay, Sr., bore the maiden name of Abigail Ashcraft, and she, too, was a native of Marion County, Va.
James Nay, of this sketch, was born March 20, 1846, in the same county as were his parents be- fore him. He remained under the parental roof until shortly before the war. In 1862 he became a member of Company K, Ninth West Virginia Infantry, of the Federal army, joining his regi- ment first at Guyandotte, W. Va. Among the engagements in which he took part were those of Winchester, Charleston, Fisher Hill, Cedar Creek and Cloyd Mountain. At the latter battle his regiment lost more men than at any other en- counter. In 1866, though the war was over, he enlisted in Troop B, First United States Cavalry, at Cincinnati, and was sent to San Francisco, Cal. For two months he camped at the Presidio Bar- racks, thence was transferred to Sacramento, la- ter to Ft. Churchill, and at the end of four months was ordered to Smoke Creek to escort a train from California to Idaho as protection from the Indians. Next he went to Camp McGary, Nev., and was discharged at Camp Warner, in Oregon, in January, 1869. In his three years' western service he was employed much of the time fight- ing the Indians.
In August, 1877, Mr. Nay married Donie M. Fortney, of this county. She was born in West Virginia, and had been acquainted with Mr. Nay in former years. By their union there have been born two children, Francis Bertram and Ethel A.
In 1876 Mr. Nay located in Portsmouth, Ohio, and for a year engaged in teaching vocal music in that state and also across the river in Ken- tucky. In 1877 he came to this county and fol- lowed the same pursuit with success for two years. From 1879 until 1890 he engaged in the cultiva- tion of a farm of thirty acres. This he improved, and when a good opportunity offered sold out, since which time he has dwelt in Holden. For some three years he was engaged in the manu- facture of metal polish.
A member of the Odd Fellows' society, Mr. Nay has filled several of the chairs, and is also
Adjutant of Winfield Scott Post No. 63, G. A. R., Department of the Missouri. In 1894 he had the pleasure of attending the National Encampment at Pittsburg. He is also connected with the Jun- ior Order of United American Mechanics. For about a quarter of a century he has been a faith- ful member of the Christian Church, and has served as a teacher in the Sunday-school.
+
DWIN G. FORD, one of the old and popu- lar railroad officials of Sedalia, is now gen- eral foreman of the Missouri Pacific and Missouri, Kansas & Texas round-house. He is a native of Staffordshire, England, and his birth occurred January 11, 1852. From his first year, however, he has been a resident of the United States, and from boyhood has been employed about railroad-shops. He has worked his way upward by strict attention to duty and earnest endeavor to please his superiors, and now enjoys the distinction of being regarded as one of their most trusted employes.
The parents of our subject, Edwin D. and El- len (Scofield) Ford, were likewise natives of Eng- land. The former was a hardware merchant, and followed the same business after crossing the At- lantic. For four or five years he was proprietor of a store in New Haven, Conn., afterwards for two years managed the Racine Boiler and Ma- chine, shop, and then removed to Chicago, Il1. Subsequently, going to Aurora, he entered the boiler department of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy shops, that state, and has since been foreman there and in Eldorado, Kan. His wife was the daughter of John Scofield, who died in America.
E. G. Ford is next to the eldest in a family of seven children, who are still living. Until he was fourteen years of age he attended the public schools, and was then apprenticed to the machin-
375
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ist's trade in Bloomington, Ill. There he attended night school for about four years, and later be- came a machinist, going to Chicago, where he remained until after the fire. In 1872 he went to St. Louis, where he found employment in the Missouri Pacific shops, and in the spring of 1873 went to Texas, and for eight months worked for the International & Great Northern Railroad at Hearne. At the end of eight months he returned to the Alton shops in Bloomington, and the same fall witnessed his arrival in Sedalia. Since then he has been in the employ of the firm for which he is still working, but did not rise to his present position until 1882. When the railroads were consolidated, he was made general round-house foreman, with about thirty men under his direction and with two round-houses, having in all twenty- eight stalls.
Mr. Ford was married in Sedalia, in 1881, to Mrs. Mary V. McDonald, nee Turner, who was born in Howard County, Mo., and was educated in Boonville. Mr. and Mrs. Ford have one child, a son, Edward G. The parents are members of Calvary Episcopal Church. Mr. Ford is a Mason of the Royal Arch degree, and politically is a true-blue Republican.
OSHUA BARTON JACKSON, who occu- pies an influential and prominent position among the agricultural population of Johnson County, has his homestead in township 46, range 27. He is a native son of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Lafayette County, a mile and a-half south of Lexington, on the 18th of Sep- tember, 1824. He is the third in a family of eleven children born to Uriel and Mary C. (Tom- lin) Jackson, of whom four are still living: Han- nah Ann, widow of Taylor Sterling, of Texas; Joshua Barton; Christian W .; and Louise, wife of Nicholas Dayton, a prosperous saddler of Texas.
The father of this family was born in Virginia,
in 1796, and spent his entire life engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, mostly on the frontier. as he removed with his parents to Tennessee when but three years old. In that state he spent his boy- hood and was there married in 1819. Shortly after, with his young bride, he emigrated to Mis- souri, settling in Lafayette County, where he be- came one of the earliest pioneers, and they had to live in a fort, which was erected for the protec- tion of the settlers, as the Indians were very nu- merous and of an aggressive spirit. Mr. Jackson had no personal trouble with them, but often re- lated an incident which occurred to one of his neighbors. Mr. Palmer and his four sons left the mother and sisters at home one morning while they repaired to the forest to hunt. Return- ing later they found the house surrounded by four Indians, while three were on the roof trying to effect an entrance. With a quick eye the father saw the danger and at once gave the sons their instructions. Within a few minutes but two of the Indians were alive, while one of these was badly wounded.
After residing in Lafayette County for some ten years, Uriel Jackson removed to within a stone's- throw of where our subject now resides. He was a man who made many friends, and for miles around was known as "Uncle Coz." He built the first mill ever erected in Johnson County, and fur- nished much of the flour used in this, as well as Pettis, Henry, Bates and Lafayette Counties. He here lived until his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-four years. He was a great hunter, and took special delight in seeking out the haunts of the bee. He had an amusing ex- perience once while hunting and fishing with two of his sons. A deer passing while they were fishing was shot and wounded, and was seen to run quite a distance and lie down. They imme- diately mounted their horses and set out in pur- suit. They formed a circle and began searching the tall grass, when the father came unexpectedly upon it. The deer, seeing the sons directly in front, turned and sprang right on the back of the father's horse, knocking him off. When the sto- ry became known among his neighbors, they sent him a butcher-knife, with the request to wear it
376
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
always on his person to protect him from savage deer. During the War of 1812 Mr. Jackson served as Fife Major and served throughout the entire struggle. He was near New Orleans when that noted battle occurred. Later in life, on the occasion of any national celebration, when the old patriotic spirits turned out in force, his fife was the music for marching. He died in 1869, deeply mourned by the entire community .
Joshua Barton Jackson, whose name heads this sketch, was reared to manhood under the parental roof, and became inured to all the hardships and privations of pioneer life, but, though a severe training, it has fitted him for his labors in later years. He began life for himself as a carpenter, and in connection with an older brother built sev- eral of the mills in this and adjoining counties. This gave him a start in life, and he later devoted his time to both carpentering and farming.
In 1847 Mr. Jackson made his first trip across the plains as teamster on a wagon train, compris- ing forty wagons, with an escort of two hundred dragoons and a regiment of infantry. On arriv- ing at the Arkansas River, they started across the country so as to save thirty miles, but after some hours of travel and finding no water, they were obliged to retrace their steps in order to be near the river. Before arriving there, however, they crossed a small branch of clear water, where they stopped for the night. Four men, including our subject, started with buckets for water, and on nearing the stream he discovered five Indian po- nies, all saddled and bridled, under the bank. On reporting this to the Colonel, the latter only laughed and said there were 110 Indians within a hundred miles of them. Next morning, after a drive, they reached another branch about nine o'clock, and a number of men crossed the creek in search of drift-wood, when they were suddenly surprised by the Indians, fifteen being killed and wounded, nine of them being scalped. They all proved to be soldiers. The following year our subject made another trip, but this time without adventure, though they experienced some very severe weather, during which many head of cat- tle were frozen to death.
On his return to Missouri, Mr. Jackson settled
down to farm life on his present place. He was married, October 15, 1854, to Miss Martha E. Ripley, a daughter of William and Martha (Cox) Ripley, and a most estimable lady. To them were born four children, three of whom are still living, viz .: David William, who married Miss Mary Schaffer, and is a progressive farmer of Johnson County; Nathaniel B., living at home, where he assists in the duties of the farm; and Cora May, the wife of C. T. Middleton, a prom- inent farmer of the state of Washington.
Although Mr Jackson has passed the seventieth anniversary of his birth, he is still remarkably well preserved, and bids fair to live many years longer. His political affiliations are with the Republican party, although his father was a stanch supporter of Democracy. He belongs to the Baptist Church, and in its work takes an act- ive part. He is one of the representative agri- culturists of the county, and we are pleased to give him a prominent place among Johnson County's leading citizens and honored pioneers.
OSHUA PATTERSON, one of the represen- tative citizens and prominent farmers of John- son County, owns a tract of about two hun- dred and eight acres, located on section 1, town- ship 46, range 29. He came to this section in 1859, from Yadkin County, N. C., and has since been identified with the interests of this portion of Missouri.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.