USA > Missouri > Lafayette County > Portrait and biographical record of Lafayette and Saline counties, Missouri : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 16
USA > Missouri > Saline County > Portrait and biographical record of Lafayette and Saline counties, Missouri : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 16
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2 ATHAN M. COOPER, a prominent agricul- turist and successful stock-raiser, located upon section 16. township 50, range 26, Lexington Township, La Fayette County. Mo., has also profitably conducted the mercantile business, and engaged extensively in buying and shipping stock. For many years our subject has been inti- mately associated with the best interests of the neighborhood of his present home, and, progressive in his methods and ideas, and honorable in his business dealings, has won and worthily holds the esteem and confidence of the general public. Mr. Cooper was born in Russell County, Va., March 15. 1840. His parents were Jacob and Martha (Mead) Cooper, both native Virginians.
The mother of our subject was the daughter of
Fielden Mead, a well-known citizen of the Old Dominion. The ancestors of the Mead and Cooper families were Enghsh and German. and early set- tled in America, where they have ever since taken an active part in the growth and upward progress of the national Government. Among the most distinguished statesmen and American Revolution- ary soldiers was Richard Kidder Mead. who -in December, 1775, commanded a company at the bat- tle of the Great Bridge, near Norfolk, Va .. and who was soon after appointed by Washington as one of his confidential Aides, in which capacity, with the rank of Colonel, he rendered signal service throughout the war. The English branch of the Coopers were especially distinguished for their learning and ancestry, and their descendants in this country have been noted for their talents and general ability.
Nathan M. Cooper passed his boyhood in his birthplace, and there attended the common schools of his home neighborhood. also assisting his father, who was a carpenter by trade and also engaged in agricultural duties. Our subject remained upon the homestead until he was eighteen years of age, and then began farming for himself. In 1868 he re- moved to La Fayette County, Mo., and for nine years tilled the soil; in 1877. he embarked in the mercantile business, in Page City. For the suc- ceeding two years he handled general merchandise, and in 1879 located in Holden. Johnson County, Mo., where he profitably continued in the same line of business for one year. At the expiration of this time. preferring a residence in Page City. he returned there and employed himself in buying and shipping grain and live stock.
In 1883 Mr. Cooper returned to the pleasures and labor of farming life, and, aside from the pur- suit of general agriculture, engaged extensively in stock-raising upon his present valuable farm. which consists of four hundred and thirty-two acres, all under a high state of cultivation. In 1883 our subject married Miss Virginia F .. daugh- ter of Orlando Bradley, a native of Virginia, but an old resident and early settler of Missouri, hav- ing arrived within the borders of the State in 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are devoted members of the Presbyterian Church, and are widely known
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and enjoy the esteem and confidence of a large circle of friends. In the religious and benevolent enterprises of their church they are among the lib- eral givers, and are ever ready to aid in all good work.
Our subject is active in the promotion of educa- tional advancement and interests, and served with ability and faithfulness as a School Director from 1883 to 1891, and principally to his earnest efforts the schools of the county owe their high standard of scholarship and instruction. Mr. Cooper has never been anxious for political promotion, but he nevertheless takes an abiding interest in alt local and national issues, and is in sentiment and prin- ciple a strong Democrat. Upright and honorable in his business dealings, energetic and efficient in the work of life, and ever conscientious in the dis- charge of duties intrusted to his care, our subject is one of the important factors of our national strength, an honored and useful American citizen.
L R. STAGNER, a prominent citizen and honored resident of Marshall, Saline County, Mo., was for many years one of the leading stockmen of the State, and now retired from active business duties, enjoys the confidence and esteem of the many friends who know his worth and up- right character. Maj. Stagner, as thus genial gen- tleman is familiarly addressed, is a native of Ken- tucky, and was born near Richmond. Madison County, in December, 1824. His paternal grand- father was a native of Pennsylvania, and was born during the Revolutionary War. Ile was descended from German ancestry, and was a sturdy man and a good citizen.
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llis son Thomas, the father of our subject, was born in Kentucky, and was a very successful and extensive farmer in the Blue Grass region of that fertile State. Ile raised large numbers of mules and drove them to the South. The Indians were at times troublesome, and he was called upon to take an active part in the Indian
wars in Ohio, and was under old Col. Dick John- son during the battle in which the famous Indian warrior Tecumseh was killed. Thomas Stagner was a Whig, and a true American citizen. He died in the year 1860. The mother of our subject was Nancy Moppine, born in Madison County, Ky. ller grandfather, Thomas Moppine, was a native of Albemarle County, Va., and an early settler of Ken- tucky. When a mere lad he served in the War of the Revolution, bravely fighting for God and lib- erty. The mother of our subject died in Ken- tucky in 1816.
Thomas Stagner was twice married. By his first wife he had two sons and three daughters, and was the father of eight sons by his second marriage, of whom our subject was the eldest-born. He was reared upon the old homestead, attended the dis- triet schools, and worked upon the farm until 18-18, when he came to Missouri. He was prospecting and traveling in Platte. Davis and Caldwell Coun- ties for two years. In 1850 he started for Califor- nia, in company with six men, driving their ox- teams. They journeyed slowly upon their way, going by old F't. Kearney, now Nebraska City; then to the Platte River, near Ft. Kearney, by the way of Laramie; then from North Platte to the head of the Sweetwater, and thence to the South Pass down the Humboldt River; then across the desert, forty- five miles to Carson, south to the Grand Canon, and upward to the summit of the lofty mountains, and then downward to Hangtown.
The trip across the plains occupied the entire time from May 7, 1851. to October 11 of the same year. For eighteen months our subject prospected perseveringly, and then engaged in freighting from Sacramento to Grass Valley, Nevada County, a distance of eighty miles. Mr. Stagner continned freighting for two years, and then returned home. Leaving California in 1851, he traveled to the Eastward by way of Panama and New York. Ile had intended to buy cattle to ship to California, but found they were too high to make a profit on, and abandoned the idea. He then bought a farm in Caldwell County, of two hundred and forty acres, and engaged in the pursuit of agriculture until the war. In 1864 he sold out his farming interests and located in St. Louis, where he en-
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gaged in the stock trade and commission business, in the okl I'nion Stock Yards, and continued ship- ping for four years.
In 1867 Mr. Stagner settled in Saline County. Mo., but before locating permanently, engaged as stockman near Slater. Entering into business there. he soon established an extended reputation as an enterprising and ambitious man. He first shipped by boat from Cambridge, until the Chicago & Al- ton built their line from Slater. In 1872 our sub- jeet was in the lumber business in Marshall, but in 1875 he quit the lumber business and again en- tered in the stock business. which he continued un- til 1883, when he retired from active business du- ties. Always energetic and industrious. and withal possessing excellent judgment, Mr. Stagner has ac- quired a competence, and has built three substan- tial houses in Marshall, which he rents. His life has been one of busy usefulness, and he now en- joys the consciousness of the well-deserved regard and confidence in which he is held by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. Our subject is a Democrat, and, as ever, believes the principles of his party are founded upon truth and justice.
R OBERT M. REYNOLDS, Public Administra- tor of Saline County, Mo., is a well-known resident of the city of Marshall, and is a promising young attorney, full of life, health and energy. Thoroughly at home with the duties of his profession, and taking an active part in all public enterprises of the day, social, religious and benevolent, he is rapidly identifying himself with the advancement of the State and the county which now claims his professional duties. A native of Saline County, his acquaintance is limited almost only by the number of the population. and he is recognized by all as an earnest and progressive citizen.
Our subject was born in Arrow Rock Township, Saline County, Mo., January 17, 1863. Ilis father,
P. T. Reynolds, was also a native of Arrow Rock. but the paternal grandfather of Robert was a Vir- ginian, and emigrated from the Old Dominion to Missouri in a very early day. and was one of the pioneer farmers of that section of the State, having settled in Arrow Rock when the country round about was little more than a wilderness. Cornelius Reynolds was an honest, upright man, and was much lamented when he passed away, after a long life of busy usefulness. llis son, P. T., was reared upon the homestead farm, and for a portion of his early life engaged in the duties of agriculture, but en- tered upon mercantile business in Arrow Rock. He remained there from 1872 until about 1882. when he removed to Slater and continued in the same line of business there until he retired from active work.
Mrs. P. T. Reynolds, the mother of our subject, was Miss Martha Gilmer, and is also a native of Saline County, having been born at Arrow Rock. She is the daughter of John Gilmer, a native of Virginia, but an early pioneer in Arrow Rock Township. He was a very hard-working and en- teiprising man, who was successful in accumulating property, and farmed about one thousand acres. lle died in 1876. respected by all, at the good old age of ninety years. The mother of our subject still resides in Slater, and can claim descent from the old Virginia families renowned in the early history of this country. She is the mother of four sons and two daughters. of whom Robert is the second, and the only one who has acquired a pro- fession.
Mr. Reynolds is essentially a self-made man. He was reared in Arrow Rock, and attended the vil- lage school, but determined to improve every op- portunity to progress in life, and in 1879 he en- tered the Central College in Fayette County, and studied there one year. He then taught school three years at Arrow Rock, as principal of the school. and then began the study of law. In 1888 he was admitted to the Bar of Missouri by Judge Field. and immediately opened an office and en- tered upon the duties of his profession. In 1889 our subject located in Slater, as partner of the firm of leriden & Reynolds, and enjoyed a successful practice, but in 1890 he was elected to his present office as the Public Administrator of Saline County,
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 1
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUND.ES B
W. T. GILLIAM.
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and removed to Marshall, where he devotes his time to the duties of official work and the practice of his profession.
In 1885 Mr. Reynolds was married to Miss Sa- rah L., a daughter of Williams Eddins, a farmer of Howard County, and a well-known and successful citizen. Mrs. Reynolds was born in Howard County, and is the happy mother of two children, William T. and Catherine. Our subject and his estimable wife have a large circle of friends and acquaint- ances in Marshall, and are prominent in the social gatherings of the city. Mr. Reynolds is a Knight of Pythias, and also a Knight of Malta, He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is an Elder of the church in Marshall, and is known as one ever ready to extend his personal assistance in behalf of all good work. In political alliliations he is a straight Democrat, and has rep- resented his party at State and county conven- tions, ably discharging the duties thus reposed in him by his constituents. Our subject and his fam- ily reside in a pleasant and commodious home on Vest Street, and there entertain many of the prominent citizens of the State, as well as their own county,
7.
UDGE WILLIAM TAYLOR GILLIAM, the honored founder of the town of Gilliam, owner and operator of the grain elevator, the Gilliam Mills, and the tobacco factory, prominently connected with the lumber interests, and President of the Gilliam Exchange Bank, has long been the energetic and efficient finan- cier of his neighborhood. Born in Virginia on the 11th of August, 1808, our subject was a young man twenty-nine years of age, when, full of hope, courage and ardor, he journeyed to Missouri and with rare ability began the successful and prosperous career he has here enjoyed for over fifty-five years.
During this long period of time the history of Judge Gilliam has been intimately associated with
the progress and advancement of Saline County, to all of whose enterprises of importance, whether social, religious, benevolent or purely business, he has cheerfully extended a helping hand, and fittingly occupied the position of leader in local growth and improvement. Ilis residence upon section 34, township 52, range 19, is known through all the surrounding country as the abode of hospitality, and there both friend and stranger find a ready welcome from the veteran pioneer and genial host.
The father and mother of our subject, William and Judith (Woodson) Gilliam, were Southerners, the father being a native of Virginia, and a brave man, who served his country faithfully in the War of 1812. Judge Gilliam was one of a family of twelve children, four of whom are yet living. Anthony Woodson, who was born in Virginia in 1805, has been twice married and resides in Saline County; James, born in the Old Dominion in 1816, lives in Chariton County; Fayette, a native of Virginia, married Miss Ayres; Thomas, born in Virginia, married Miss Watts. Judge Gilliam carries his years so lightly and is so vigorous mentally and physically, it seems scarcely possi- ble that nearly eighty years have passed since he, a little boy, was a pupil in the rude log school- house in old Virginia. Acquiring there the rudi- mentary education of those early days, he has built upon that substantial foundation an ex- tended knowledge, and, self-reliant, self-educated, and self-made, enjoys the proud consciousness that he has ever used to the best of his ability the talents with which a beneficent Creator so richly endowed him.
At twenty-one years of age our subject entered the store of Silas Biglow as a clerk, the contract between the employer and his assistant being that for $50 per year and instructions in business our subject should give daily service. A twelve- month experience gave the clerk confidence in handling the merchandise, and he then proposed that he should peddle goods from a wagon to dis- tant customers, carrying only such fabrics and useful articles as were largely in demand. This venture was approved by Mr. Biglow, and proved a great success, netting the first year a profit of
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$1,200, of which amount the employer received two-thirds, our subject having as his share $100.
In the Old Dominion in 1830 our subjeet mar- ried Miss Mary S. Stewart, who was born in Vir- ginia in 1813. For the four years following his marriage he devoted himself to agricultural pur- suits, and cultivated a farm given him by his father. In 1837. believing there were larger op- portunities for the advancement of young men in Missouri, he came to Saline County, where he pur- chased a tract of three hundred and twenty acres from the Government. He prospered beyond his expectations and constantly added to his real es- tate, until he owned and controlled twelve thou- sand acres. The town of Slater is located upon seven hundred acres of land sold by him to Joel Baker. A portion of his early possessions is now covered by the flourishing town which bears his name. lle continues the owner of three thousand acres of highly cultivated land, and which is prin- cipally in the hands of tenants. He accumulated a large amount of money from his interests in live stock, and dealt in mules and cattle with great success.
Possessing unusually clear discrimination and excellent judgment. Judge Gilliam knew no such word as fail, and it is safe to say, that had he possessed less faith in the honor of his fellow-men, to whom he lent money and the endorsement of his name, he would have been to-day one of the wealthiest men in the West. As it is, he possesses abundant means, and is thrice blessed in the wealth which is incorruptible and beyond all earthly price. At the time of the money panic of 1875, he was engaged in the banking business in Marshall under the title of the "Gilliam & Doak Bank," and they were the only bankers in the county who did not suspend business. After the death of Mr. Doak, our subject paid all the bank's liabilities and closed the business.
The death of his wife in 1851 left the Judge with the care of six children. The eldest son, Anderson II., who was born in Virginia in 1834, was murdered by an ontlaw on a steamboat on the Red River; Judith E., who was born in Vir- ginia in 1837, married Edwin Guerin, of Saline County; William 11., born in 1841, married Miss
Alice Boswell, and is a prosperous farmer; Mary F., born in 1816 and now the wife of John F. Burroughs, resides near Marshall; Sarah Ann, born in 1817, married II. D. Doak on the 2d of October, 1872, and died January 25, 1877. leaving one child, a son, who is at present a student in the military school at Boonville, Mo .; George, whose birth occurred in 1851, passed away in 1862.
Our subject married again in 1853, his present wife having been Mis Martba J. Swinney, a Vir- ginia lady, who was born in 1827. By this union .Indge Gilliam became the father of four children: Thomas and James (deceased), Anna and Leta. The last-named was born in 1865 and became the wife of Dr. C. L. Lackey, a practicing physician of Sweet Springs, Mo. She died on the 29th of De- comber, 1892. leaving one child, a son. W. T., five and one-half years old. The children were educated principally in the common schools and two of them were graduated at the Glasgow College in Mis- souri. Judge Gilliam has already provided boun- tifully for all his children, dividing over $100,000 among them, and still retains a handsome compe- tence. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South since 1832, and is widely known as a munificent giver. not to one church only, but to the majority of churches established in Saline County, bestowing his generous dona- tions without regard to creed or doctrine. For twenty-two years he has been Steward in his home church, and responds as readily in behalf of educational advancement as he does in the exten- sion of religious work.
Fraternally Judge Gilliam is a Freemason, and also is a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. At one time he was connected with the Know-Nothing Party. In early days he was a Whig and later became one of the most ardent supporters of the Democratic party. Al- though never aspiring to official positions he has always been actively interested in party manage- ment and control. During the Civil War his earnest sympathies were with his own kindred and the people of the South, but in his home hundreds and thousands of hungry soldiers were bountifully fed, regardless of the color of the uniform they wore. Years have passed, and in many a home
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both North and South the memory of the kindly hospitality of Judge Gilliam and his good wife brings the unbidden tear to the eye of the veter- ans of the blue and gray. Pleasant and instruct- ive are the reminiscences of our subject, and thrice happy must he be in the assurance that he has worthily won the lasting esteem, confidence. and honored remembrance of his hosts of friends and fellow-citizens.
OHN TYLER is the subject of this memorial sketch. During life he was one of the lead- ing men of La Fayette County and became well and favorably known here. Mr. Tyler was born in Henry County, Ky., November 17, 1813, a son of Charles Tyler, who made a fine record in the War of 1812 under Gen. Jackson. Our subject grew to manhood in his Kentucky home, enjoying only those educational advantages which were afforded in the country schoolhouse, conducted on the most primitive plan. Later reading had supplemented this knowledge, making of him a very well-informed man, quite equal to any emergeney in life.
Having been trained to agricultural pursuits, our subject early in his young manhood turned his thoughts to the founding of a home, and, in connection with it and for its support, the cultiva- tion of a fine farm. This laudable desire was ful- filled when Miss Catherine V. Streit became his wife, June 3, 1841. She was the estimable daughter of William and Susan H. (O'Bannon) Streit, and was born in Fauquier County, Va., January 24, 1818. Her father was a native of Virginia, of German extraction, his father, with an uncle, hav= ing been the first two Lutheran ministers who ever eame to Virginia. Upon her mother's side Mrs. Tyler was of Irish blood.
The survivors of the ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Tyler bear the following names: Charles; Mary S .; John A. H .; Nannie S., wife of M. Schooley; Lizzie H. and George W. In 1848,
with his family, our subject decided to remove to Missouri. Following this decision, they embarked on a boat from Louisville, Ky., and after a delight- ful trip, landed at Boonville, Mo., making their destination Pettis County. Several years were spent at this place, when they came to the farm upon which Mrs. Tyler now resides. This was a new place, and the Tyler family were among the pioneers, obliged to endure the hardships of the time, but doing so bravely, and overcoming obsta- cles which often seemed almost insurmountable.
The death of Mr. Tyler occurred November 5, 1890, when one of the most respected men of the county passed to his final rest. His business life, whether in tilling the soil or in buying and selling stock, was characterized by a wholesome hon- esty and industry, which stand as examples to his family and friends. His political opinions made him a follower of Democratic principles, and during the time of the Civil War he did what seemed to him to be the dearest duty, by enlisting in the Confederate service under Gen. Price. Mrs. Tyler survives her husband, a lovable and intelli- gent woman, residing in great comfort upon her nice farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Re- turning again to Mr. Tyler, we can say that he left behind him the memory of a kind husband and father, an upright man and obliging neighbor; and who could desire a more extended tribute than this? llis honesty was proverbial, and, in the words of one who knew him, "John Tyler's word was as good as his bond, and his word was as good as the best men's oath."
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S IMON P. PFLEGER, a farmer, stock-raiser and promment citizen of La Fayette County, Mo., located upon his farm in section 8, range 26, township 49, is the very worthy subject of this sketch. His birth oc- curred in the State of Virginia, Floyd County, October 1, 1840, the son of Benjamin and Mary
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(Wedle) Pfleger, both of whom were natives of Virginia, and they were the parents of the follow- ing children: Andrew M .; Ellen, who became the wife of David Willis; our subject; Henrietta, who became the wife of Rev. Mr. Summers; John N., who married the widow of George Smith; Dora L .; Estella, who became the wife of Dr. Smith; William and Mattie.
Our subject was reared until he reached man's estate in his native county, where from his earli- est youth he was accustomed to agricultural pur- suits. His education was obtained at Jacksonville Academy, in Virginia, but all thoughts of work or school were banished when the call sounded for troops to fight for the Confederate cause. April 16, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Fifty-fourth Virginia, Confederate States of America, fighting under Gens. Johnston and Hood. At one time he was under Brig .- Gen. Humphrey Marshall.
The battles in which our subjeet took part were the important ones of Chickamanga and Mission- ary Ridge, the siege of Atlanta, and the skirmishes continually taking place between the Western ar- mies. Continuing in the army until the surrender of Johnston at Goldsboro, N. C., he took part in the battles of Resaca, Ga., Dalton, Bentonville, and others of minor importance, taking part in all in about thirty-six engagements. Strange to relate, he returned home without any wounds, although sixteen bullet-holes through his clothing at Ben- tonville showed how close had been his call.
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