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 81
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 81
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In political matters Mr. Seip is always to be found on the side of the Republican party. In 1861 he became a member of Company E, Seven- ty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, under Col. William Serwell, and took part in the following important engagements: Stone River, Chicka- mauga, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Pump- kin Vine Creek. At Stone River he was shot in the shoulder, and January 1, 1862, fell into the
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hands of the Confederates. He was taken to Libby Prison, but was released at the end of seventeen days. Religiously he is identified with the Methodist denomination.
L. MORRIS. It is the privilege of com- paratively few who begin in business with- out capital or friends to attain a success so notable as that which has rewarded the efforts of Mr. Morris. He is one of the retired farmers and stock-raisers of Pettis County, and is passing his declining days quietly and happily at his old home- stead on section 6, township 44, range 22, where he has resided since 1866. His first purchase in Washington Township consisted of three hundred and sixty acres, but he afterward added other property, until his landed possessions aggregated about six hundred acres.
A native of east Tennessee, our subject was born in Grainger County, February 24, 1818, be- ing the only child of C. L. and Lucy Morris. His father died when he was an infant, and he was reared by his mother, whom he began to support as soon as old enough to work. Educational op- portunities were very meager in those days, and his attendance at school was for a short time only. He operated a rented farm in Tennessee, but be- lieving that he could gain a competence more easily in another place, he left the state at the age of twenty-two and came on horseback to Missouri, the trip lasting twenty-six days. He arrived at his uncle's house in Henry County on New Year's Day of 1842, and from that place went to Vernon County in March. Securing one hundred and sixty acres, he began the improvement of a farm and erected a log cabin for his home. In order to earn money, he hired out to neighboring farm- ers, and during the intervals of other work culti- vated his land.
As soon as able Mr. Morris sent for his mother,
who journeyed by boat from Tennessee a short distance up the Arkansas River and was then joined by her son, with whom she drove overland to Vernon County. They began to keep house in a log cabin, but later removed to a good hewed- log house, which our subject erected. July 29, 1851, he married Miss Jane Sommers, who was born in Vernon County, Mo., February 1, 1833. Her parents, Jesse and Lottie (McDermott) Som- mers, were born, reared and married in Kentucky, whence they came to Missouri in 1830, being among the very earliest settlers of Bates (now Vernon) County.
Believing that no better investment could be made with his money than in the purchase of land, Mr. Morris, whenever he could get $50 ahead, went to the land office and entered forty acres. In this way he continued until he had entered a large tract. He then sold his farm and bought other land, which he brought under culti- vation. At the time of the outbreak of the Civil War he was residing there. Though he took no part in the conflict, he was so situated that his farm was raided by both Federal and Confederate troops, who burned his fences, killed his cattle, hogs and chickens, and hauled off his fruit by the wagon load. Through their depredations he suffered heavy losses, and life itself was at times endangered.
In 1865 Mr. Morris sold his Vernon Coun- ty farm and moved to Pettis County, where he rented land for a year. He then moved to Wash- ington Township and purchased property, to which he has since added from time to time and upon which he now resides. Some years ago he purchased five sections of land in Crosby County, Tex., which he afterward sold at a handsome in- crease on the purchase price. Politically he is a Democrat and a firm advocate of the original Jef- fersonian principles, though by no means in sym- pathy with the policy of President Cleveland's administration. Upon the organization of Wash- ington Township he was elected its Clerk, and afterward served as School Director. Before the war, in Vernon County, he served as Justice of the Peace. His first Presidential ballot was cast for Martin Van Buren, in 1840. While a resident of
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Tennessee, at one election his was the only Dem- ocratic ticket cast in his precinct. With his wife and children, he is connected with the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church and has served the congregation as Class-Leader.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Morris consists of four sons and three daughters. Helen, who was born January 8, 1853, married Arthur Harriman, and died June 2, 1890, leaving two children. William Wallace, who was born in Vernon Coun- ty, August 16, 1855, is a resident of Washington Township; he is married and has two children. Jasper and Newton (twins) were born in Vernon County November 2, 1860. Jasper, who is mar- ried and has three children, makes his home in Ft. Worth, Tex .; and Newton, a widower with one child, makes his home with our subject. C. L. and Lucy (twins) were born in Vernon County, May 21, 1863. The former is a resident of Green Ridge, Pettis County. Lucy, wife of John Logan, of Sedalia, has three children. Jennie, the young- est of the family, who was born in Pettis County October 5, 1867, is an accomplished young lady, who for a time engaged in teaching, but is at pres- ent a clerk in Mr. Crawford's dry-goods store in Green Ridge.
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2 ANIEL PARK GREEN, a farmer and stock- raiser of Pettis County, residing on section 23, township 45, range 21, was born in Bar- low Township, Washington County, Ohio, Octo- ber 14, 1837. He is the son of Charles Wesley and Susan (Park) Green, the former born in Water- town Township, Washington County, Ohio, in January, 1812, and the latter a native of Oneida County, N. Y. His mother was taken by her parents to Ohio at the age of two years, and grew to womanhood in Washington County, where in 1832 she became the wife of Charles W. Green, a farmer and trader of the county.
While his educational advantages were as good as the common schools of the time afforded, our
subject has gained his present fund of information mainly by observation and systematic reading. He worked for his father until twenty-two years of age, when he began for himself, receiving at first $8 per month. In 1859, during the oil ex- citement, he went to Virginia, but remained there only a short time. On his return to Ohio he was employed in making salt in Noble County, re- ceiving $30 a month and his board.
During the Civil War Mr. Green volunteered in the Ohio National Guards, in 1863, and his regiment, proceeding to Virginia, took part in the engagements in the valley of the Shenandoah, on the Peninsula, on the James River, around Pe- tersburg and Richmond, and at Monocacy. After a service of one hundred and thirty days, he was honorably discharged from the army. Later he attempted to re-enlist, but as he had become crip- pled in the feet from marching through the sand, they refused to accept him for further service.
In company with two other men, in 1866, Mr. Green came to Pettis County and bought a sawmill, which he set up on Flat Creek, south of Sedalia. During the two ensuing years he did a thriving business and was prospered, saving a neat sum of money. In 1868 he went back to Ohio, and in Washington County, on the 20th of February, he married Miss Eliza Carlin, with whom he had been acquainted before going to Missouri. He brought his bride to Pettis Coun- ty, and soon afterward sold his sawmill and em- barked in agricultural pursuits on land purchased by his father. This place he has "grubbed" and placed under cultivation, and improved with a substantial set of farm buildings. He now has one hundred and thirty-seven acres of as good land as may be found for miles around, and is justly proud of the thrifty condition of his estate.
Mrs. Green was born in Adams Township, Washington County, Ohio, October 16, 1839, and is a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Cherry) Carlin. One child has been born of her marriage, a son, Duty C., whose birth occurred on the old homestead October 30, 1871. In boyhood he re- ceived a good education, and he is a lover of good literature, keeping well informed on all subjects of the day. October 17, 1894, he married Miss
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Lillie F. Botts, of Flat Creek Township, Pettis County. She was born near Lamonte, this coun- ty, September 11, 1867, and is a daughter of David M. and Parlee (Thomas) Botts. In relig- ious belief our subject and his wife hold member- ship with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Se- dalia. Since casting his first Presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860, he has been loyal to the principles of the Republican party, and his son also supports that political organization.
ICHARD E. RENO. While Pettis County has much in the way of natural resources and commercial transactions to commend it to the public, the chief interest centers in the lives of those citizens who have achieved success for themselves, and at the same time benefited the community. Prominent among this class is the gentleman above named, one of the native- born sons of the state and a resident of section 4, township 44, range 23.
Mr. Reno was born in Callaway County, in 1846, being the youngest member in the par- ental family. His parents were Henry F. and Priscilla (Alexander) Reno, the former of whom was born in Virginia, where he spent his early life. He afterward removed to Kentucky, mak- ing that state his home until 1828, the year of his advent into Callaway County. There he be- came prominent among the progressive and in- telligent agriculturists, and there also he lived until his decease, in 1883.
The mother of our subject, who was a native of the Blue Grass State, accompanied her hus- band on his removal to Missouri, and survived him until 1892, when she, too, passed away, at the venerable age of fourscore years and four. Her son, our subject, had very limited opportu- nities for obtaining an education, as his services were in demand on the farm with the exception of about three months in each year. The schools,
which were very inferior, were thoroughly dis- organized on the outbreak of the war, so that his education has been acquired mostly by practical experience and reading. Being reared to farm work, he naturally chose that industry as his vo- cation in life, and has followed it with success.
Mr. Reno lived in Callaway County until 1892, when he sold his possessions there and spent the succeeding twelve months in travel, visiting Kan- sas and California. Returning to Missouri, he purchased the beautiful farm upon which he is now living, and which consists of one hundred and fifty acres of splendidly improved land within two miles of the thrifty little city of Green Ridge. His buildings are modern and substantial in con- struction, and the place is well watered and kept under such good tillage that the harvests are large and profitable.
In 1872 Mr. Reno was married to Miss Emma Dicus, who was the daughter of Hiram and Lucy Dicus, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Reno, who was also born in that state, is well educated, and has become the mother of two children, Ed- die Roy and Alida. The parents are members of the Presbyterian Church, and are always first in all good work and ever ready to assist in any enterprise whereby the cause of Christianity or the good of the community is involved. In politics Mr. Reno is a Democrat at all times and under all circumstances, consequently is opposed to monopolies. Although his residence in this coun- ty has been of short duration, he is well and fa- vorably known, and ranks among the substantial agriculturists of the section.
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ACOB STRAWSBURG. We take great pleasure in adding the name of this enter- prising and representative farmer to others of the leading citizens of Johnson County. He owns an extensive and desirable place on section 24, township 46, range 27, and may well be proud of the success which he has attained
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through honest and industrious efforts. Com- mencing life a poor boy, he has year by year ad- vanced toward fortune, and is now secure in pos- sessing a good income and an abundance for old age.
Our subject is a native of Maryland, born April 15, 1837, and is the third of six children whose parents were Samuel and Mary (Copper- smith) Strawsburg. The father was a blacksmith by trade, and for several years followed that oc- cupation in Maryland, later moving to Pennsyl- vania. He met his death by drowning a few years afterward.
Young Jacob Strawsburg was reared under the parental roof and had very limited advantages in an educational way, ten months covering the period of his school days. At an early age he set forth to earn his own livelihood, and, being undaunted by hard work, he was soon on the high road to success. In 1865 he removed with his family to Ohio, there beginning his career as a farmer, and two years subsequently came to Johnson County. The next five years he rented land, and by thrift and strict economy saved a sum adequate to purchase a farm of his own.
It was in 1872 that Mr. Strawsbung became the possessor of the first forty acres of his homestead, this tract having been bought from E. Roop. A year afterward another piece of land was pur- chased of Peter Halford, and as time passed he kept investing in more property, until now he has four hundred and eighty-three acres. Four years since he made a purchase of one hundred and thirteen acres and moved to the house which stood upon it, and this has been his abode up to the present time. He is financially interested in the Centerville Creamery, and takes much pains to advance the welfare of the community in every possible manner.
January 8, 1857, Mr. Strawsburg married Eliza Fogle, daughter of John and Susan (Smith) Fo- gle, honored residents of Maryland. Of the ten children born to our subject and his wife, all but one survive. They are as follows: Mary Ellen, who married David Blaylock, and resides in Kan- sas; Randolph, who married Lizzie Burgard; Lealı Anna, Mrs. James Holloway; Rebecca,
wife of Peter Fry; Louie; Jane, Mrs. Curtis Goodyear; Samuel, who married Martha Bur- gard; Susan, twin of Samuel, and wife of Frank Connard; and Charles and Jacob, Jr., who are at home. Mrs. Strawsburg has been a true help- mate, and has faithfully assisted her husband to prosperity. They have a cozy and happy home, and entertain strangers as well as friends under its hospitable roof.
In his political affiliations our subject is a Democrat, and religiously he is a believer in the doctrines of the German Baptist Church. At all times he contributes liberally to charitable objects and worthy enterprises, and has scores of sincere friends.
TTO HENRY OTTEN is manager of the Sedalia Military Band, which is composed of twenty players, and which has a reputa- tion for excellence and high merit all over the West. Mr. Otten plays the French horn in this band, and also in Freeman's Orchestra, the latter of which has fourteen pieces. The band of which he is manager has engagements in all of the lead- ing cities and towns of Missouri, and for a prac- tice room has well equipped quarters at No. 210 Lamine Avenue. By trade Mr. Otten is a horse- shoer, being an expert at the business, and is a member of the firm of Otten & Hartenbaclı, with a shop at No. 210 Lamine Avenue.
The grandfather of our subject, John Otten, was a farmer in Germany. The father, Prof. John Otten, Jr., was a man of letters and a suc- cessful teacher. He died in 1880, in his native land, and his wife (formerly Martha Snars) died three years later. They were both members of the Lutheran Church, and of their eight children, whom they brought up in that faith, four remain in Germany, while three are in America.
O. H. Otten was born in the city of Bremen, Germany, in 1848, and after leaving school worked on a farm, after which he was appren- ticed to learn horse-shoeing. In 1866 he was made
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a member of the Twenty-second Regiment of Hanover troops, and fought in the Prussian War. At the battle of Langensalza he was wounded by a sword-thrust in the left hand, the blow having been aimed at his neck, and the same day was struck by a gun-stock, which fractured his left shoulder-bone. As the Prussians were victors, he was obliged to go into their army, and was given the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Twenty-third Infantry, and as such fought in the Franco-Prussian War.
In 1871 Mr. Otten came to America, and after a year spent in Cole Camp, Benton County, Mo., he worked in a horse-shoeing establishment in Se- dalia for some eight years, then starting in busi- ness for himself. He built the shop which he now occupies, and also the adjoining one, which is rented to a barber. Mr. Otten has the best horses in the county to shoe, and broke in "John R.," "Sedalia Boy," and many of the finest trot- ters here.
The Sedalia Cornet Band was organized by our subject in 1877, and in 1891 the name was changed to the one it now bears. The mem- bers of the band have three distinct uniforms and present a fine appearance. Mr. Otten de- serves great credit for the skill and perseverance with which he has drilled his men, who have subscribed to military rules of conduct. He has about $3, 100 invested in music, and spares neither time, effort nor money in obtaining the best re- sults. He is a stanch Republican, and is a char- ter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge.
HEOPHILAS P. BERRY, an honored veter- an of the late Civil War, has been a resi- dent of Sedalia since February, 1887, and is now serving as Alderman of the Third Ward. He was elected to this responsible position in 1894 by the Republicans, and is Chairman of the Sanitary and Sewer Committee, besides being a member of several others. In 1876 he was influential in the
formation of the first Republican club organized in Osage County, and was made its President. He has been very active in Republican circles, and has been a member of county and state com- mittees. Since July, 1888, he has been a ina- chinist in the Missouri Pacific Railway shops.
The paternal grandfather of the above-named gentleman was of French descent and was an officer in the War of 1812. At a very early pe- riod he moved with his family to Ohio from West Virginia. Mr. Berry's father, John Berry, was born in West Virginia, and at the age of ten years was taken to Belmont County, Ohio, near St. Clairsville, where he grew to manhood. He married Jemima A. Brown, and Theophilas was the only son of this marriage. His birth occur- red in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, near Trenton, April 22, 1842. Five years after the birth of this son, the parents separated, the father returning to St. Clairsville, and the mother going to her fa- ther, John Brown, in Tuscarawas County. She afterward married James McKnight, by whom she had nine children, two sons and seven daugh- ters. Both of the sons are deceased, and the daughters moved to Illinois, where they now live, and are the mothers of families. Mrs. McKnight died at Homer, I11.
From the time Theophilas was seven years of age he was reared in Belmont County, but left home when in his sixteenth year to work for neighboring farmers. In July, 1861, while in Meigs County, he volunteered, on the first call for three-years men, enlisting in the Fifth Ohio Cavalry. As the quota of the state was filled, this regiment was disbanded, but its Colonel, a Mr. Boles, took a part of them to West Virginia, where they had an opportunity to enlist in the troops of that state. Mr. Berry became a private of Company I, Second West Virginia Cavalry, and served three years and four months in that regi- inent. During this time he took part in the battles of Louisa Court House, Jenner's Creek, Ky. (under Garfield), Lewisburg, Fayetteville, Cotton Mountain and others. May 1, 1864, he was under Gen. George Crook in the battle at Dub- lin Depot, which was followed by that of Horse- shoe Gap, and later, in July, was in the battle of
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Lynchburg. In August he was transferred to the Shenandoah Valley, his commanders being Gen- erals Hunter and Sheridan. He was honorably discharged at Wheeling, W. Va., October 28, 1864, and the following February re-enlisted as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Nine- ty-fourth Ohio Infantry, as First Sergeant. He was soon promoted to be Sergeant-Major of the regiment, and served as such until July 25, 1865, when he was commissioned Second Lieutenant, and assigned to old Company E. Going to Washington in August, he remained there until October 10, when he was ordered to Columbus, Ohio, and was there discharged, October 24, 1865.
November 9, 1865, Mr. Berry was married, in Barnesville, Ohio, to Miss Sarah E. Vedder, who departed this life February 24, 1895, at Sedalia, Mo. She left six children to mourn her loss, viz .: Frank P., Lillie A., Ora M., Marcellus A., Lydia A. and William T. The eldest son is a machinist in the Missouri Pacific Railroad shops at Sedalia, and Marcellus is a clerk for Hoffman Bros. Lillie, a graduate of the high school, is now engaged in teaching in the Summit School.
It was in February, 1866, that Mr. Berry came to Missouri, and after placing an application for employment at Jefferson City, came to Sedalia. In June, 1866, he entered the service of the Mis- souri Pacific as a machinist in the Jefferson City shops; the next year he was placed in charge of a force of men, and then was engine dispatcher until June, 1873, at which time he was ordered to Chamois, and placed in charge of the Missouri Pacific shops. After a service of thirteen years he left the employ of the latter company and en- gaged in the milling business for about eight months. Returning to Sedalia in February, 1887, he was made Deputy-Constable, under Ellis Smith, and in the following April was appointed by Mayor Crawford Market Master and Inspector of Weights and Measures, but resigned the place in July for the purpose of occupying a position as machinist in the shops of the Missouri Pacific, which position he has since occupied.
Mr. Berry is a Past Master and is now a mem- ber of Sedalia Lòdge No. 236, A. E. & A. M. He belongs to Jefferson City Chapter No. 34,
R. A M., and to Prince of Peace Commandery No. 29, K. T. He has passed all the chairs in Chamois Lodge No. 85, is now a member of Equity Lodge No. 26, A. O. U. W., and is Past Commander of George R. Smith Post No. 53, G. A. R. In 1894 he was honored by being se- lected as a delegate from the Department of the Missouri to the National Encampment at Pitts- burg. In the First Congregational Church he is an active worker and contributes liberally to its various departments of usefulness. His pleas- ant home, which he owns, is located at the corner of Fourth and Summit Streets.
ILLIAM B. SCALES, M. D., enjoys a large and lucrative practice as a physician and surgeon in Sedalia, though he has been located here only five years. From 1873 to 1890 he practiced in Boonville, Ind., and while there was honored with the position of County Health Officer for several years, and served as State Medical Examiner for the Ancient Order of United Workmen some six years. He is now local ex- aminer for the same order, and is associated with the Central District Medical, the Pettis County Medical and the State Medical Societies. Of the two first-mentioned organizations, he has been Treasurer, and when connected with the Warrick County (Ind.) Medical Society, which he helped to organize, he was President on several occasions.
The Doctor's grandfather, William Scales, was born in Rockingham County, N. C., and with his wife and one child inoved to Indiana at an early period, there clearing and improving a farm. He was Captain of an Indiana company during the War of 1812, held nearly all of the county offices in Warrick County, including those of Judge and Sheriff, and was a prominent and successful Democratic politician. At the time of his death, when he was in his seventy-fifth year, he was residing in Boonville, Ind., where he had made his home for many years. Religiously he
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was a Baptist, and held the office of Deacon in the congregation. His wife, formerly a Miss Skelton, of North Carolina, lived to a good old age. The Scales family were banished from Scotland on account of their liberal ideas, and settled in North Carolina. Our subject is a sec- ond consin of ex-Governor Scales of that state, and possesses the sterling characteristics which are inherent qualities of all bearing the name.
Thomas Scales, the Doctor's father, was born in Rockingham County, N. C., and was reared on a farm in Warrick County, Ind. For about thirty-two years he followed agricultural pursuits, and then engaged in a mercantile business at Sel- vin. He was elected to the position of County Recorder, and died while serving in that office, in 1876, aged seventy-five years. Throughout the state he was known as a prominent Democratic politician. His wife, formerly Sarah Bogan, was born in Lexington, Ky. Her father, Levi Bogan, a native of Virginia, moved to Lexington, Ky., and subsequently became an extensive land-owner and farmer in Warrick County, Ind., where he passed the remainder of his days. Mr. and Mrs. Scales were members of the Baptist Church.
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