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 63
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 63
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In August, 1861, our subject enlisted in Com- pany A, Seventh Kansas Cavalry, and was as- signed to the Sixteenth Army Corps in General Dodge's brigade. Until 1862 he was on duty in Missouri and Kansas, taking part in a skirmish at Little Blue, in which two of his company were killed and seven wounded, and a short time after the battle of Shiloh was sent to Pittsburg Land- ing. Afterwards he went to Paducah, Ky., from there to Hickman, and then was placed on guard along the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, his time being spent in that part of the country until 1864. He was in numerous engagements, and was one of a party of skirmishers in the battle of Corinth, where he saw hard fighting. At one time a can- non ball killed his horse under him, and he had a number of other close calls. In the summer of 1864 he was sent to Missouri after Price, starting from St. Louis, and after the battle of Pilot Knob pro- ceeded to that locality, thence to Franklin, War- rensburg and Lexington in the pursuit of Price, who was moving rapidly ahead. In the winter of 1864 he returned to Memphis, where he was on duty until the following spring. In July, 1865, he was sent out to look after the Indians on the plains, and while at Ft. Kearney received orders to be mustered out, and in October was finally honorably discharged at Ft. Leavenworth.
On his return home Mr. Hesse obtained work
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on a farm near White Cloud, Kan., and in the spring of 1866 went back to his native state. On the 6th of September he was married, in Perry County, to Sarah J. Foster, who was born at Thornville, Ohio, being a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Holt) Foster. For the next six years Mr. Hesse operated his father's farm, after which he resided in Thornville for a year, at the end of that time moving to this county. Having sold his land in Kansas, he purchased his fine place on section 24, in this county, in 1874, his homestead comprising ninety acres.
Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hesse there have been born four children: Albert, August 9, 1867; Elizabeth, March 11, 1869; Mary, March 13, 1872; and Edward, September 19, 1875. The three eldest children are natives of Perry County, Ohio, while the youngest was born in this coun- ty. In former years Mr. Hesse was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but is now non-affiliated. I11 1864 he voted for Lincoln, and continued with the Republican party until 1889, his last vote in that party being cast for Har- rison, for the last few years his sympathies hav- ing been with the Populists.
IDNEY WILSON CARPENTER. Among the farmers and stock-raisers of Johnson County this gentleman occupies a prominent position. His farm, which is situated on section 28, township 44, range 27, consists of three hun- dred and twenty-three acres, under a high state of cultivation and improved with a substantial set of buildings, adapted to their various purposes. He has resided upon this place since his marriage in 1876, and the improvements that have been inade here are due to his energy and judicious management.
The parents of our subject, Wilson David and Elizabeth (Riggin) Carpenter, were natives, re- spectively, of Virginia and White County, Ill. His father, who was a soldier in the War of 1812,
shortly after the close of that conflict accompanied the paternal grandfather and four brothers to Kentucky, but soon removed to Illinois. At Mt. Carmel, that state, he met and married Miss Rig- gin, and they returned to Kentucky, making their home in Allen County.
In 1836 the family came to Missouri, making the journey overland with ox-teams, one of which was driven by our subject's eldest brother, Thom- as Newton, now a resident of township 44, range 27. Arriving in Johnson County, the father bought a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Chilhowee Township, and as soon as the Govern- ment land came into market, he invested largely in property, entering altogether about a thousand acres. In this work he was assisted by a slave, the only one he owned. In September, 1862, he went to Washington County, Il1., where he en- gaged in farm pursuits, though making his home in town. Politically he was a Democrat, and during the war his sympathies were with the South. He was a man of earnest Christian spirit, and for many years prior to his death belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was a Class-Leader. In organizing congregations in different parts of the county he labored energet- ically and faithfully, and his contributions toward the spread of the Gospel were unusually large. He was well versed in the Scriptures and a de- voted student of the Bible.
In the parental family there were eleven chil- dren, but four died in early childhood. Three daughters attained to womanhood, two of whom married, namely: Mrs. Mary Jane Webster, who at her death left two daughters and one son; and Mrs. William Smith, whose only daughter be- came the wife of a Baptist preacher residing in the West. The third daughter, Sarah Catherine, died unmarried. The father passed away June 5, 1882, having for some years survived his wife, whose death occurred July 2, 1874.
During the residence of the family in Chilhowee Township, Johnson County, Mo., our subject was born, December 3, 1840. His boyhood years were passed on the home farm, and during four months of each year he attended the neighboring district schools, where he laid the foundation of a prac-
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tical education. Early in the Civil War he en- listed in the Confederate army and served for six months under General Price. Later, in 1862, he entered the Fourth Missouri Infantry, Colonel Caldwell commanding. While marching with his regiment in Arkansas, he stopped at a private house, being too fatigued to proceed further, and there he was captured by Illinois troops, who sent him home. He accompanied his father to Wash- ington County, Ill., where they remained until 1869, returning thence to Johnson County. His father, who owned fourteen hundred acres of land, gave him one hundred and sixty acres soon after his return to Missouri, and before his death gave him an eighty-acre tract.
The land was wholly unimproved, and it re- quired considerable work on the part of our sub- ject to bring the property under its present high state of cultivation. In 1871 he built a small house, and in it he resided with a brother until his marriage. This event, which occurred Janu- ary 25, 1876, united him with Miss Lettie Moore, who was born in Jefferson County, Tenn., May 12, 1856, and at the time of her marriage was living in Henry County, Mo. Her parents, Gid- eon Blackburn and Susan (Wells) Moore, were born in Jefferson County, and Greene County, Tenn., respectively, and were married in the former place, whence they came to Missouri in 1859.
Since casting his first Presidential ballot for George B. MacClellan in 1864, Mr. Carpenter has been a Democrat in political belief, though at present he inclines somewhat toward the People's party. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows while living in Illinois, and now holds membership with the lodge at Blairstown. Seven children were born of his marriage, namely: Sid- ney Winford, born June 29, 1880; Horatio Moore, who was born March 17, 1882, and died December 13, 1882; Susan Lee, born September 1, 1883; Richard Blackburn, April 29, 1885; Sarah Eliza- beth, born August 1, 1888, and died October 5, 1892; Allen Stark, born August 15, 1891, and died October 12, 1892; and Mary Lurilla, born March 29, 1893.
It may be said of Mr. Carpenter that he is a
man of great energy, persevering disposition and upright character. It is due to his enterprise that he has become one of the most influential farmers of the county, and has gained a reputation as a progressive and successful agriculturist. In his home he and his wife have ever been kind and hospitable. To all visitors a hearty welcome is extended. In social circles he and his family are highly regarded, and have the esteem and friend- ship of a large circle of acquaintances.
NOCH BARNUM. A resident of Johnson County since the summer of 1868, Mr. Bar- num has a wide acquaintance throughout this section of the state. He came to Warrens- burg in 1881, and engaged in various lines of business until 1890, since which time he has been living in retirement. As a business man he has been more than ordinarily successful, and the fact that, beginning with limited means, he has gained prosperity, proves that he possesses energy, perse- verance and wise judgment.
In Schoharie County, N. Y., the subject of this notice was born August 12, 1838, being the sec- ond child of Lucas and Nancy C (McCollum) Barnum, natives of New York State. When three months old he was taken by his parents to near Binghamton, N. Y., where his mother died in 1843, and his father in April, 1872, at the age of sixty-four years. The latter was a carpenter by trade and a farmer by occupation, but after Enoch was old enough to superintend the home place, he devoted his attention to his trade, in this way having two sources of income for the support of his family.
Reared to manhood upon his father's farm, our subject was during the winter months a pupil of the district schools of Broome County, N. Y. In the fall of 1860 lie went to Pennsylvania and there spent the winter. At the opening of the Civil War, in 1861, he enlisted in Company C, First
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Pennsylvania Rifles (better known as "Old Buck Tails," on account of their custom of wearing deer tails in their hats). The date of his enlist- ment was April 23, 1861, and he remained in act- ive service until May, 1864, participating in the many engagements in which his company took part until he received a gun-shot wound in the thigh and shoulder, June 6, 1862, at Harrison- burg, in the Shenandoah Valley. Afterward he was detailed as Commissary Sergeant, and one year later was given full charge of the cooking. He superintended one hundred and twenty men in the cook house, and provided food for five thousand men, filling the position satisfactorily in connection with his commissary duties until his discharge from the service.
On retiring from the army Mr. Barnum re- turned to his father's home in New York, where shortly afterward he was stricken with fever and for several months was very ill. As soon as he regained his health he went to Ohio and engaged in the sale of Dr. Gunn's famous publications. In the fall of 1865 he came to Missouri with the intention of investing in land, and after prospect- ing here for a time he returned to New York. In the spring of 1866 he removed to Camden County, Mo., where he entered a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, making it his home until the summer of 1868. From Camden County he came to Johnson County, where he purchased a farm and followed general agricult- ural pursuits for seven years. Later, renting his land, he went to Chilhowee, this county, where he entered the general mercantile business with Messrs. Young, his brothers-in-law. Four years were spent in that business at Chilhowee, the re- turns being profitable and the trade covering a wide scope of country surrounding the town.
The marriage of Mr. Barnum, which occurred in 1862, united him with Miss Hannah, daugh- ter of Hosea and Sallie J. Young, natives of New York and Vermont, respectively. Unto them were born two sons and one daughter, namely: Marion Y., a prominent business man of Warrensburg; Sallie A., a charming young lady, who is very popular in the social circles of this city; and Lu- cas H. E., who is a student in the State Normal
School at Warrensburg. Mrs. Barnum was a most estimable lady, a devoted wife and mother, and her death, April 20, 1894, was mourned by all who knew her.
In the work of the Methodist Church Mr. Bar- num has for years taken a leading part. He is President of the Board of Trustees, also Church Treasurer, and one of the Collectors. Socially he is identified with Corinthian Lodge No. 265, A. F. & A. M., the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Grover Post No. 78, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican and has abiding faith in the purity and strength of that party's princi- ples.
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SAAC W. HOUTS, M. D., who has been re- tired from active practice for several years, was formerly very successful as a general family physician, but is now giving his attention to the improvement of his valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Center View Town- ship, Johnson County. Besides this tract he also owns twenty-two acres in Chilhowee Town- ship.
The Doctor was born in Scott County, Mo., July 13, 1835. His father, Christopher G. Houts, who was born in Pennsylvania, July 23, 1789, and died in White County, Il1., August 30, 1840, came from a long line of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. By occupation he was a farmer, and while a resident of New Madrid County, Mo., served as Clerk of the County Court. His first wife was Letitia G. Lewis, who was born January 31, 1793, and after her death he married, July 21, 1815, Sarah Myers, a native of Kentucky. By the first marriage two children were born, and by the second five, three of whom are deceased. Dawson is a retired farmer now living in War- rensburg. Mary L., who became the wife of Edward Eastham, was born September 29, 1828, and died in this county in 1858. George Will- iam, who was born in March, 1832, and died in June, 1893, was an attorney of Warrensburg, and
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was President of the County Court for four years. Green V., born November 25, 1837, was a minister in the Methodist Church and a mem- ber of the St. Louis Conference; he died in But- ler, Bates County, about 1884. John G., a child of the first marriage, was a cabinet-maker, and spent most of his life in Posey County, Ind., but died in Warrensburg in 1893. His brother, Christopher, was born and passed his entire life in Cape Girardeau, Mo., following the carpenter's trade.
In the War of 1812 our subject's father served as Quartermaster of a Kentucky regiment, and at one time was wounded. While at New Orleans he was under General Jackson. About 1820 he came to Missouri, becoming a member of the First Constitutional Convention held in the state, and about 1832 moved to Illinois. In early mian- hood he joined the Methodist Church, and was a local minister and teacher at the time of his death, in 1840. In 1842 his widow entered forty acres of land in Johnson County, and her sons, assisted by neighbors, built a house on the farm and took charge of its cultivation.
Dr. Houts attended the local schools, and for one term was at Cape Girardeau Seminary. He had earned sufficient money as a farm hand to pay his way, and after obtaining a certificate taught two winter terms of school. During this period lie commenced the study of medicine, and later went to St. Louis, graduating from the med- ical college there in 1861. Subsequently, going to Winchester, Kan., he commenced the practice of his profession, but did not long continue, on account of the troublous condition of the country. In 1864 he joined Company B, Seventeenth Kan- sas Infantry, being appointed First Lieutenant. He was stationed on the line between Kansas and Missouri for some time, but was principally lo- cated at Ft. Leavenworth. In the spring of 1866 he again came to this county, and for a year con- tinued to practice. Afterward he moved to Wadesburg, Mo., and three years passed ere he came to his present farm, which is now under high cultivation. In 1889 he went to Oregon with his family and spent one year at Roseburg, in the Umpqua Valley.
January 6, 1867, Dr. Houts married Eliza, daughter of James Graham. She was born in Ireland, February 21, 1846, and has become the motlier of two children, Oliver F. and Walter L., who are both on the home farm. James Graham and his good wife had a happy married life of over lialf a century together. Mrs. Houts is a member of the Methodist Church, and is a most estimable lady. The Doctor began life without means, and won success by his persistent and un- tiring efforts.
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DWARD CLARK BOULDIN, the gentle- man whose biographical sketch it is now our purpose to give, is one of the well-to-do farmers of Cedar Township, Pettis County, his fine and well cultivated estate being pleasantly located on section 5. It is three hundred acres in extent, and in its management our subject has gained an enviable reputation as a wide-awake and progressive agriculturist.
Mr. Bouldin is a native of Kentucky, having been born in Hopkinsville, Christian County, September 8, 1820. He was reared in the coun- ty of his birth and also spent some time in Hen- derson County, prior to his removal to Missouri. The journey hither was undertaken in 1850, and having previously decided on making his home in Pettis County, he located in Cedar Township, on land which has since been his property. He has made agriculture the chief occupation of his life, and in its pursuance has met with marvelous success.
Mr. Bouldin was married in Daviess County, Ky., five years prior to coming to Missouri, to Miss Betty M. Glover, the ceremony being per- formed at her home, November 26, 1845. She was a native of Daviess County, and was born August 25, 1827, to Walker and Sally Glover. By her union with our subject there have been born eleven children, nine of whom are now liv- ing. They are: Alice, now the wife of J. A.
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Bowers; Sally, Mrs. E. L. Porter; Eunice B., Mrs. H. B. McCubbin; David W., who married Eliza Richie; Anna M., the wife of H. H. Ma- rean; Emmett E., who married Sally Smith; Ed- ward C., Jr., who is unmarried; Ada A., who is the wife of Rufus C. Young, and lives in Stanley, Kan .; and Joseph C., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Bouldin have buried two children. Carrie V., formerly the wife of Henry Faulkner, died when twenty-six years old; and Edward O. died in in- fancy.
Our subject has always taken a very active and prominent part in local politics, and was chosen by his fellow-townsmen as the first Assessor of Pettis County. A stanch supporter of Democratic principles, he has been a delegate to the various conventions of that party. . He is a devoted mem- ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, to which denomination his wife and children belong. As one of the enterprising citizens of the county he is highly regarded, and the good results which have attended all his efforts indicate him to be a shrewd and far-seeing business man.
ICHOLAS HOUX FULKERSON. Prom- inent among the leading farmers and pros- perous citizens of Johnson County, may be found the name of the gentleman of whom this sketch is written, who is quoted among the for- mer as an influential citizen and a first-class ag- riculturist. His home is situated in township 46, range 27, where he owns twelve hundred acres of valuable land. He is descended from one of the oldest and best known families in the state, and was born in Johnson County, about a mile and a- half southwest of Columbus, on the 8th of April, 1842. He is one of the five surviving members of a family of ten children, whose parents were James Monroe and Elizabeth C. (Houx) Fulker- son.
His father, Dr. Fulkerson, was born Marclı 15, 1811, in Virginia, but removed with his parents
to Tennessee when only a few months old. They later came to Missouri, settling in Tabo Grove, Lafayette County. At this time the Doctor was a young man of eighteen years and had chosen the profession of a physician. He had previous- ly studied with Drs. Stout and Harris in Tennes- see, and after arriving in Lafayette County con- tinued his studies under Dr. Ward. In 1830 he went to St. Charles County, where, with Dr. Lay, he studied and practiced, making his home with his uncle, Isaac Fulkerson, who was one of the first pioneer settlers of St. Charles County, arriving there in 1819, before Missouri was made a state.
After qualifying himself to practice, Dr. Ful- kerson opened an office at Dursts Bottom, St. Charles County, and began his professional ca- reer. Desiring to more fully complete his med- ical studies, lie attended a series of lectures in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1831 and 1832. He volun- teered for the Black Hawk War, but becoming ill was unable to serve. He was so bad that the doctors gave him up and his shroud was ordered by a man who died a short time later and was buried in it. The Doctor recovered and remained at Dursts Bottom until 1834, when he came to Johnson County, making his home with Nich- olas Houx, one of the pioneers of the county. He later married that gentleman's daughter and settled on the old homestead.
The Doctor's father was unable to assist him in any way, and he was thus thrown upon his own resources, but this developed in him both energy and self-reliance, which afterward were numbered among his chief characteristics. For three successive terms he represented his county in the State Legislature, being the first to be honored with that important trust. In 1840 he was chosen Director of the Lexington Bank and Assignee of the bankrupts of Johnson County. He became a heavy landed proprietor, owning at the time of his death twenty-four hundred acres of land in this county, although during the war he lost quite a little property, as he was also a slave-hold- er. Shortly prior to his death he removed to Warrensburg, where his last days were spent, his death occurring in 1886.
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Mr. Fulkerson, whose name stands at the head of this record, was given the advantage of a thor- ough education. After attending the common schools, he was for two years at Chapel Hill Col- lege, and the following year at the Columbia State University. He then entered the St. Joe College, where he also remained for a year. Aft- er completing his literary education, he decided to follow the profession of his father, and in 1860 began reading medicine under the tutorship of Dr. P. P. Fulkerson, of St. Joe, one of that city's prominent physicians, and an uncle of our sub- ject.
Until the breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Fulkerson was an enthusiastic student, but being loyal to his training, he enlisted in Company E, Fifth Missouri Regiment, under General Price, while the regiment was commanded by Col. James McCowan, and the company by Capt. J. V. Cockrell. During his service he was twice wounded, once at Lexington, Mo., and afterward at Corinth, Miss., where he was taken prisoner and confined until able to be sent to the front and exchanged. The last year of the war he spent in freighting on the plains.
After returning home his father's losses caused Mr. Fulkerson to give up the study of medicine and begin farming, which he followed in Johnson County for four years. He then engaged in the Texas cattle business, which he continued very successfully for eight years, and on the expiration of that time was instrumental in forming a com- pany and stocking a cattle ranch in Kansas. Sub- sequently he was chosen manager of the same, which he conducted for three years, when the price of cattle declined so rapidly that the busi- ness ceased to be profitable and was discontinued. He then returned to his Missouri farm, which he operated until 1883, when he removed to War- rensburg in order to let his children attend the State Normal School. For six years he there re- sided, but during the time continued to manage his farm, returning to the same in 1889, where he has since lived. He has been unusually suc- cessful in life, making money rapidly, and now has twelve hundred acres of rich and arable land.
On the 25th of December, 1866, Mr. Fulkerson
led to the marriage altar Miss Martha A. F. Ful- kerson, a daughter of John H. and Henrietta (Ewing) Fulkerson, early pioneers of Lafayette County. She is a lady of rare attainments and has made their home a model one. To them have been born six children, of whom five survive, and are as follows: Frederick M., a leading and sticcessful dentist of Bates County, Mo., who married Miss Minnie Logan, of Warrensburg, and has one child; Jolin H., a prominent young physician of Columbus, Johnson County, who has the prospect of a bright future before him; Nicholas H., who completed his education at the Missouri Valley College of Marshall, Mo., and is a young man of twenty-two years, who has chosen the life of a farmer for his future career; Reuben P., a young man of eighteen, now attending the State Normal, in which he is fitting himself for one of the professions; and Elizabeth Ewing, a charming little miss of ten summers, still at- tending the common schools.
Mr. Fulkerson's political affiliations are with the Third party, and he takes a very active inter- est in political matters. He is a consistent mem- ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and is ever foremost in religious work. Being a na- tive of Johnson County, he is widely known, and those who have known him from boyhood are numbered among his stanchest friends, while he has the respect and confidence of all.
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