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 61
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 61
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In 1852 our subject went to Bartholomew County, Ind., where he worked for $15 per month on a farm. In the fall, however, he was again obliged to return home on account of ill- health, and after recovering, followed farming in the Blue Grass State until 1854. September 4 of that year he was married to Miss Louisa Wil- more, of Adair County, Ky., where her birth oc- curred November 18, 1832. Her parents were James H. and Permelia (Sled) Wilmore, natives of Virginia. For one year Mr. and Mrs. Roberts remained in Kentucky, where their eldest child, William Adolphus, was born. In 1855 they drove to Johnson County with a party of emigrants, and on arriving here Mr. Roberts purchased a claim of eighty acres, which he afterwards entered from the Government. This he resided upon until 1858, when he disposed of it and returned to Kentucky on a visit. At the end of a few months he was perfectly content to make his future home
in this state, and accordingly, in 1859, returned hither and became the proprietor of one hundred and eighty acres where he now resides. The land was in a wild state when he took possession of it, but being energetic and ambitious he cleared and cultivated it, and now owns one of the best improved tracts in the township. To this he has added from time to time until now his possess- ions aggregate three hundred and twenty acres. The place is adorned with a good residence, suit- able barns and outbuildings and all the machin- ery and stock found on a first-class place.
Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, we make the following mention: William Adolph- us, born June 29, 1855, died in 1856; Laura Per- melia, born May 2, 1857, married J. W. Moore, and makes her home on a farm in Chilhowee Township; Junius E., born March 8, 1860, married Miss Dora Wall, and makes his home in Rose Hill Township; Susan T., born November 4, 1862, married William Stimpson, and died in Collin County, Tex., in 1883; John Milton, born March 25, 1864, married Miss Cora Harris, and is living on a portion of his father's farm; Sarah L. was born December 29, 1868, and died April 29, 1892; George was born January 22, 1875, and is still at home with his parents.
During the Civil War Mr. Roberts' sympathies were strongly in favor of the South, although he stayed at home. His property was often appro- priated by the soldiers on both sides, but as he was unable to resist them, he was obliged to submit, and did so quietly. He cast his first vote for a Democratic candidate in 1848, and has supported the principles of that party ever since. During the Mexican War it was his desire to enlist, but his father objected, and as he was under age he was thus prevented from going to the seat of the conflict.
Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, together with most of their sons and daughters, are members in excel- lent standing of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and are active workers in the congrega- tion which they attend, Mr. Roberts serving as Deacon.
In the year 1877 our subject rented his proper- ty, and going to Collin County, Tex., there lived
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for two years, but being dissatisfied with the out- look returned to Missouri, which has been the scene of his operations ever since. He is widely and favorably known and is regarded as one of the progressive and successful agriculturists of the section.
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M OSES H. AVERY. A high place in the regard of the railroad men residing in Se- dalia is held by the gentleman named, who is one of the oldest engineers in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Road. For more than twen- ty years he has been on the road and for five years ran the fast mail train between Sedalia and Kan- sas City, using two engines, No. 258, an eight- wheeler, and No. 267, ten wheels. He is now engineer on the fast mail train, the run being be- tween the two cities named. Considering the long period of his railroad service, he has been especially fortunate in having had no serious ac- cidents, though at one time, through a mistake on the part of the train dispatcher, his train was derailed in a collision, and he was severely wounded in the left shoulder. At another time, through the breaking of a side rod, he was in- jured to such an extent that he was unable to work for four months.
The Avery family is of Spanish descent. The grandfather of our subject, David Avery, follow- ed the occupation of a farmer in New Hampshire, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His maternal grandfather, Moses Avery (who though having the same name was not related to David Avery), was an agriculturist of New Hampshire, and served in the Colonial army during the Revolution. The parents of our subject, Samuel and Temperance (Avery) Avery, were born in Plymouth and Ellsworth, N. H., respectively, the former September 14, 1788, and the latter June 12, 1791. His father devoted his entire time to agricultural pursuits, with the exception of the period of his service in the War of 1812; he died in New Hampshire, July 4, 1857.
Six of the nine children of Samnel Avery still survive, of whom the eldest is seventy-eight, and the youngest (our subject) sixty-two. Moses Avery was born in Plymouth, Grafton County, N. H., December 8, 1832, and was reared on a farm, attending the common schools three months of each year. In 1852 he went to Ohio, and helped to build the railroad now known as the Marietta & Cincinnati, after which for a year he was employed as fireman between Chillicothe and Blanchester. November 17, 1854, he was pro- moted to be engineer on the same road and between the same points, remaining in that capacity until 1858, when he accepted a position as engineer on the Terre Haute & Alton, between Terre Haute and St. Louis. During the war he was employed by the railroad company, and conveyed thousands of soldiers and large supplies of firearms and ani- munition to the front, using for that purpose an eight-wheel engine.
Retiring from the service of the Terre Haute & Alton Railroad in 1862, Mr. Avery went to Lees- burg, Ohio, and soon afterwards proceeded to Chicago, where he accepted a position on the Illi- nois Central, between Chicago, Cairo, Centralia and Amboy. For six months he was conductor, but with that exception continued as engineer for the company until 1874. During that year he came to Sedalia, and became engineer for the Atlantic & Pacific, now the Missouri Pacific. After one year on a freight train, he was given a passenger run, which he retained, as before stated, for more than twenty years.
In Leesburg, Ohio, in 1856, Mr. Avery mar- ried Miss Matilda D. Bentley, a native of that city, and a daughter of C. M. and Margarey (Dorsey) Bentley, natives, respectively, of Lees- burg, Va., and Hagerstown, Md. Her paternal grandfather, who was a Virginian by birth, re- moved in an early day to Ohio, and settled in Highland County, where he founded and named the village of Leesburg. Her father died at seventy-seven, and her mother in October, 1894, when eighty-four years of age. Five of their ten children are now living, and two of their sons, William and John, were soldiers in the Civil War. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Avery was
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blessed by the birth of three children, all daugh- ters, namely: Mrs. Harriet Lay, of Sedalia; Mag- gie, wife of Charley Humphreys, who is a general foreman in the Missouri Pacific shops; and Annie, a graduate of the Columbia College of Music, and an accomplished young lady.
Socially Mr. Avery is a Royal Arch Mason. He belongs to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, holding membership in Sedalia Divi- sion No. 178, which he represented as delegate to the Atlanta Convention in 1892. In 1890 he was elected Alderman from the Third Ward, on the Republican ticket, and served in that capacity until 1892, meantime rendering efficient service as a member of various important committees. During those two years great progress was made in the city, many new enterprises were estab- lished, and improvements made of the greatest value to the people. Mr. and Mrs. Avery attend services at the Episcopal Church, and are popu- lar in the best circles of the city. In the Wo- man's Relief Corps the latter takes an active part, and at present holds the office of Past Junior Vice in the lodge at Sedalia.
OSEPH C. CHRISTOPHER. This well known business man of Warrensburg is a member of the firm of Christopher & Co., who have conducted a livery for about a year. However, much of his attention is devoted to his real-estate interests, and he is the owner of a small farm within the city limits, which he carries on in connection with his other business. He is one of the native sons of Missouri, having been born in Cass County, December 12, 1850.
Joseph C. Christopher, Sr., our subject's fa- ther, is a native of Kentucky, in which state he grew to mature years. He married Miss Amer- ica Bryant, likewise of the Blue Grass State, and a few years later moved to Nicholasville, where the father engaged in merchandising, and also operated a hotel. They became the parents of
twelve children, six of whom were born in Ken- tucky, and the others in this state. The father, who was a Whig, served for one term in the Ken- tucky State Legislature, and came very near be- ing elected to Congress on the Whig ticket. In 1850 the family moved to a farm near Pleasant Hill, having made the journey by boat as far as St. Louis. From that time until his death Mr. Christopher engaged in the cultivation of his farm, which comprised two hundred and forty acres. When the war broke out it was known that he was in sympathy with the Union, and in January, 1862, a band of guerrillas entered his house and murdered him while he was peacefully sleeping in his bed; and at the same time one of his sons, George K., was wounded in the hand. After this distressing affair the family left the farm, crops and all, and took refuge in Indepen- dence, Mo., where the boys had to work at what- ever they could find to do whereby an honest liv- ing could be made, and Joseph C., who was only thirteen years old, drove a cart, hauling dirt for the construction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
In 1867 our subject commenced learning the printer's trade, but was obliged to leave the busi- ness at the end of six months on account of his health, after which le clerked in a dry-good store. When the war closed the family returned to the farm, living there until 1868, when they sold the place and went to Kansas City, making that their headquarters for a year. Before he was twenty years of age Mr. Christopher, in company with a brother, leased a farm near Lee Summit, in Jack- son County, and operated the place for three years. After reaching his majority he went to Texas, and was gone about six months. Later he clerked in a dry-goods store for a year in Har- risonville, Mo., and, coming to Warrensburg in 1875, filled a similar position for three years. Several years followed in which he was interest- ed in agricultural pursuits, becoming the owner of a farm in Warrensburg Township. After con- ducting a book store for one year, and carrying on a grocery for two years, he embarked in his present occupation. In connection with his part- ner, he has just erected a large and elegant struct- ure on South Holden Street, by far the finest
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building of the kind in the city. He has it well equipped with carriages, buggies and a fine as- sortment of horses, and is fully prepared to fur- nish the public with the very best that can be procured in the state for driving purposes. In the same building he also has a real-estate office, and in that business he is quite successful.
August 27, 1877, Mr. Christopher married Minnie Baile, of this city. She is a native of Preble County, Ohio, and came to Missouri with her mother, who was a widow. By her mar- riage Mrs. Christopher has become the mother of four children, Max A., Maude, Marion and Clare. The eldest was born in this city, May 19, 1878, and graduated from the public school in 1894.
At Harrisonville Mr. Christopher became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and took a demit from that lodge on moving to Warrensburg. In politics he is affiliated with the Republican party, but is not desirous of hold- ing public office. He is a member of the Chris- tian Church, while his wife is connected with the German Baptist denomination.
ROF. JAMES ANDREW MERRILL is now filling the chair of natural sciences in the State Normal of Warrensburg, and though comparatively a young man is well known as a successful educator and a scholar of no ordinary degree. On various occasions he has prepared and read papers before teachers' conventions showing research and wise discrimination, and is now President of the Missouri Teachers' Acad- emy.
The parents of our subject are Andrew Han- son and Ann E. (Easton ) Merrill, both natives of Kentucky. The Merrill family was originally from Holland, the Professor's great-grandfather and his two brothers having emigrated to the United States before the War of the Revolution, - in which the great-grandfather, Hanson Merrill,
did valiant service. He was also a participant in the War of 1812. Descendants of his settled in Virginia and Carolina, and one branch moved to Kentucky. Nicholas Merrill, our subject's grand- father, also took part in the War of 1812. For many years he was engaged in the tanning and milling business in Kentucky, employing large numbers of men and slaves. Andrew H. Mer- rill learned his father's trades and followed them several years in Kentucky. In 1864 he moved to Bloomington, I11., where he engaged in farm- ing two or three years, and then went to Clay County, Mo., where he conducted a mill and also carried on a farm. He was a member of the Christian Church, and was called to his final rest in 1879, beloved and respected by all who knew him.
The birth of our subject occurred April 6, 1861, in Rock Castle County, Ky. When he was eight years old he commenced attending the country schools, which he attended for four or five months each year until he was seventeen years of age. Taking a position as a farm hand, he saved his wages until he had enough money to pay for his tuition in the William Jewell College of Liberty, Mo., and at the end of the year's course began teaching in district schools at $40 per month, be- ing thus engaged for two years. In the spring of 1883 he came to Warrensburg, and took one term in the normal. That summer he canvassed successfully for subscription books, and the next winter again taught school in Clay County. Later, going to Ohio, he took a general agency, in which he worked during the summer vacation. Return- ing to his own home district, he taught for two years, or until April, 1886, when he resumed his studies at the normal, and finished the elementary course in June. In 1887 he completed the ad- vanced course, and was then elected assistant in the department of natural science by the Board of Regents. He later attended a summer term of school at Harvard University, then taught again in the normal during the winter of 1888-89, and in the summer of 1889 once more took a course at Harvard University. In the summer of 1890 he was appointed assistant on the United States Geological Survey, doing field work on the triassic
CHARLES O. OZIAS, M. D.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
503
trap sheets in western Connecticut, and the fol- lowing year was appointed to the chair of natural science, which he has since filled. In the vaca- tion of 1891 he attended lectures and was a student in the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Holl, Mass. Again in 1892 he went to Harvard, where he remained a year, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science in June, 1893. He had obtained leave of absence from his post of duty in the normal, and returned to his work in the fall of 1893.
In 1889 Professor Merrill became a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Co- rinthian Lodge and De Molay Royal Arch Chap- ter No. 26. He is also a member of Mary Com- mandery No. 19, K. T. These bodies are all at Warrensburg. When he was only thirteen years of age he was received as a member in the Christian Church, and ever since that time has been one of its faithful workers and supporters. Great credit is due him for the manner in which he has devoted himself to his favorite studies, and for the way in which he has managed to acquire a superior education entirely though his own un- assisted efforts.
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HARLES OTHELLO OZIAS, M. D., is a leading physician and surgeon of Warrens- burg, and a specialist on chronic diseases. He is a young man possessing much more than ordinary ability, and had the advantage of a five- years hospital service in Kansas City, this expe- rience probably being of more benefit to him than ten years of ordinary practice would have been. He has been very successful in the treatment of cancers, tumors and other obstinate and difficult forms of disease, as he has made a particular study of these difficulties. In order to better fit
himself, he went. East and took a course as a spec- ialist, and soon afterwards, in 1892, opened an office in this city. His patients are not limited to this immediate locality, as his reputation is wide, and his clientage comprises people from all parts of the state.
The Doctor was born in Lewisburg, Preble County, Ohio, November 16, 1861, on a farm, where he lived until seven years of age. In the spring of 1868 he moved with his parents to Center View Township, about six miles west of this place. He received a good education, and at the age of eighteen years entered the State Nor- mal, where he pursued his studies for two years. He then traveled some in the East, and on re- turning home engaged in farming for a few years. About 1887 he took up the study of medicine un- der Dr. J. H. Kinyoun, of Center View, and Dr. J. D. Griffith, of Kansas City. In 1891 he was graduated with honors from the Kansas City Medical College, and after practicing a short time with his brother at Roseburg, Oregon, opened an office in Warrensburg. From the first he has succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations, and is rapidly coming to the front ranks in his profession. Besides being Medical Examiner for a number of fraternal societies, he is also exam- iner for ten insurance companies and mutual or- ganizations.
December 24, 1884, Dr. Ozias married Emma, daughter of Hon. Thomas J. and Mary Etta Whitsett. The former came from old pioneer stock of Johnson County, and his father was one of the first ministers of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church of this section. The Doctor's wife was born in this county, October 29, 1866, and completed her education in the seminaries at Bowling Green, Mo., and in Holden (Mo.) Fe- male Seminary. By her marriage she has be- come the mother of four children: Mary Myrtle, born February 15, 1886, and Ollie Sophronia, August 22, 1889, both of whom were born in this county; Charles Ralph, who was born in Kansas City, February 5, 1892; and Ernest Martin, whose birth occurred in Warrensburg March 9, 1895. The mother of this family was called to her final rest April 24, 1895. A Christian with
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many noble qualities, she was a faithful worker in the cause of religion, and her death was widely mourned.
The Doctor has at all times been interested in agricultural matters, and has a fine orchard of fifty acres, containing five thousand "Ben Davis" apple trees, besides other small fruit. The or- chard is conveniently located, being about five miles from Warrensburg. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is a teacher in the Sunday-school. Politically he is a Democrat, as is also his father, but his paternal grandfather was a Republican.
The first of the Ozias family to settle in Amer- ica located in North Carolina, being one of four brothers who lived in that state for a number of years. One brother emigrated to Pennsylvania and was never again heard from, while the other three moved to Preble County, Ohio, and from them are descended all persons who bear the name in the United States. For several genera- tions they have led agricultural lives and have been honored and representative citizens in the several communities in which they have dwelt.
Joseph P. Ozias, the Doctor's father, a retired farmer of this county, is now living in Warrens- burg. He was born in Preble County, Ohio, September 6, 1838, being a son of Jacob and Sarah (Potter) Ozias. The former, a native of North Carolina, moved to Preble County, Ohio, when a boy, about 1805, with his father, Peter Ozias. The mother of our subject, formerly Sophronia Pretzinger, was a daughter of J. M. and Sarah (Martin) Pretzinger. The former was a noted physician, being very well known in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, and three of his sons, as well as four of his daughters' husbands, became famous practitioners. Dr. J. M. Pret- zinger was of German descent, and in 1836 set- tled in Darke County, Ohio, where he commenced practice. He was married in Greenville, and a few years afterward removed to Euphemia, where he passed the rest of his life. When pressed into the German service, he became a surgeon, hav- ing studied with that end in view, but as soon as he obtained his diploma he sailed for the New World.
Jacob Ozias, the grandfather of the Doctor, started out in life a poor man, but in time became the owner of nine hundred acres. His son J. P. received a fair education in the old log school- house of that period, and was trained to agricult- ural pursuits. When about twenty-two years of age, February 12, 1861, he was married, and two years later moved to a piece of ground be- longing to his father. He cleared the land, built a good frame house, and lived there until 1868. In the winter of that year he came to this coun - ty, whither his brother had preceded him, and as he liked the country, bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Returning home, he sold out everything at auction, and as soon as possible moved his family to his new prairie farm, located about a mile north of Center View. He built a good house, improved his farm and in- creased its boundaries until he had about five hundred acres. For the first tract he paid at the rate of $16 per acre, and since then has given as high as $50 an acre. He is now living retired from business cares in Warrensburg. His wife died in March, 1874, leaving three children: Dr. Charles O .; Dr. Newell J., who was born in Pre- ble County, Ohio, and is married and engaged in practice at Roseburg, Oregon; and Oscar Eu- gene, who was killed at the age of fifteen years by accident, a six-horse drag running over him. In November, 1875, Mr. Ozias married Sarah Con- ard, who was born in Licking County, Ohio, in 1853. To this union there were born four chil- dren. August died in infancy; Harry was shot and killed when seven years of age by a little playmate; Marie was born in this county, August 6, 1886; and Ruby, also a native of this county, was born January 31, 1891.
When J. P. Ozias cast his first ballot, in 1860, for Douglas, his father, who went to the polls in a carriage, cast his last vote for Lincoln. Though reared a Methodist, Mr. Ozias is now a member of the First Presbyterian Church. He belongs to Corinthian Lodge No. 265, A. F. & A. M., of this city. He has traveled a great deal, having visited every state and territory west of the Mis- souri, with the exception of Wyoming and South Dakota. Twice he visited the Pacific Coast,
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once went as far as the Gulf of Mexico. and has traveled in a number of the Eastern States. At the New Orleans Exposition he spent ten days, attended the World's Fair at Chicago, and among other sights which he has witnessed was a very exciting bull fight at Passo del Norte.
? OHN CURNUTT has been the owner of his present homestead since 1879. It is finely situated in township 46, range 25, Johnson County, and comprises eighty acres, well im- proved with substantial fences, buildings, etc. Our subject has been a witness of much of the development of this section, and remembers when Pettis County was surveyed and laid out by Charles Cravens. His first Presidential ballot was in favor of James K. Polk, but since the formation of the Republican party he has been one of its loyal advocates.
The parents of the above-named gentleman were William and Sarah (Stanley) Curnutt, who were natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respect- ively. At an early day the father emigrated to Kentucky, where he worked at his trade as a wheelwright, and also farmed to some extent. Going to Tennessee, he was married, and Novem- ber 8, 1814, they pitched their tent in Chariton County, Mo. Wolves were numerous, and Indians were sometimes troublesome. The young couple soon located at Roach Fort, near Boonville, but the next year went to Howard County, Mo., where Mr. Curnutt bought a cleared tract of land. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Reuben Cur- nutt, was a native of England, and his last years were spent on a farm in Tennessee. The par- ents of Mrs. Curnutt were Harrison and Rachel Stanley, natives of England. Three Stanley brothers participated in the Revolutionary War, and one of the number was made prisoner. He was of a very timid disposition, and only fired at the enemy once, then being much concerned for fear he had killed a man. Harrison Stanley lived for a time in Nodaway County with his son,
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