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 25
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 25
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a portion of the estate that she and her husband worked hard to obtain. She lives in the family of her devoted daughter Elizabeth, and takes great interest in her two little grandchildren, John M. and Chester Roche. Her life has been filled with good deeds. In the Baptist Church she is a Mother in Israel, dearly beloved by old and young. The quiet, unostentatious life of our subject possesses interest to all who realize that the best prosperity of a community is derived from the influenees which go out from good and pious homes.
EWIS A. SMITH is engaged in the business of stock-raising, and there is probably not a man in the county of Saline, Mo., who is better known than he. His home is situated on seetion 29, township 52, range 20. His birth took place in Clark County, Va., on the 15th of April, 1841, a son of W. O. and Marion (Adams) Smith, both of the State of Virginia. Lewis A. Smith was his paternal grandfather, and Capt. Peter Adams bore the same relationship on the maternal side. The latter was a captain in the Revolutionary War, and both were natives of Virginia. Our subject was the second son in a family of two sons and one daughter. Edward W. Smith was born in Virginia in 1842, married Miss MeBride and re- sided in the town of Slater, Mo., where he prac- ticed medicine up to the time of his death in 1888. The sister, Harriet B., was born in Virginia in 1846, and married Samuel Rogers, and now resides in Saline County.
Our subject was educated in what was known in his neighborhood as the old Bethel School, and there he remained until the breaking out of the war, which time found him a lad of seventeen years. Enthused with the Confederate cause, our subject, with several young men of his vicinity, joined the army under Gen. Price. Ilis war record, however, was short, for scarcely had he and his companions donned the gray, when all of Price's command were made prisoners. Succeeding in liberating
himself, he immediately made his way to the State of Illinois and wisely remained until he was a little older and more able to stand the life of a soldier. In 1863 he entered the command of Gen. Joe Shelby, where he remained until the close of the war.
Like many of the youths of that unhappy time, Mr. Smith found himself in almost destitute eir- cumstances, but this was the fortune of war. The question of what he should do was settled by his contracting with a Mr. Booker of his neighborhood for the entting and marketing of a field of twenty acres of wheat. First lie was fortunate enough to secure a horse, perhaps not a Bucephalus, and from another source an ancient mule, and with this well- matehed team, hitched to one of the first binders that was ever patented, together with the as- sistance of a stray negro woman and her boys, he succeeded in fulfilling his contract. After he had marketed his share of the wheat he realized quite a neat little sum, and with this money he purchased a span of mules, together with a plow and a set of harness, and thus equipped he rented a tract of land from Reuben MeDaniel and eom- menced farming for himself. At the expiration of two years, such had been his thrift and energy, he was able to purchase for himself sixty acres of land, for which he paid $35 per aere.
In 1872 our subject moved upon the tract of land where he now lives, and there he remained a bachelor until 1877, when he married and built for himself a snug house of seven rooms at a cost of $1,700. Here he lived with his congenial wife, who in after years proved such a blessing to him, in the two rooms which their limited means made it necessary to confine themselves to; and while they planned together their future prosperity, she worked upon the carpets which were to adorn the floors.
Mr. Smith had a natural love for line stock, and took an interest in them before he owned any, and his instinet pointed out the way in which he could and has succeeded. He has placed upon the market some of the choicest of fat cattle which the State of Missouri has ever produced. His last fall shipment was purchased by one of the finest restaur- ants of Philadelphia at the fancy price of $6.50 per hundred, which was $1 above the market
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price. Twelve of these cattle in this shipment weighed two thousand pounds apieee, and he is to-day engaged in feeding a herd of thirty-eight head of Polled-Angus cattle which are, without exception, the finest herd it has ever been the pleasure of the writer to look upon. Twenty head of these have been estimated by expert cattlemen to weigh from nineteen hundred to two thousand pounds each.
Our subject is the owner of a well-improved farm of four hundred and sixty acres of land, which is valued at $65 per acre. Socially, he is a Mason and a member of Cambridge Lodge No. 63. of Slater. Mr. Smith was married in 1877 to Miss Martha M., a daughter of Junius Graves, who was born in Jackson County, Mo., in 1859. She was a lady of rare tact and judgment and proved to be a great helpmate while her life was spared. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, as follows: Anna, born in Saline County, Mo., in 1878, resides at home, pursuing her educational course at the town of Slater; Junius B., named for his grandfather, born in 1880; Twyman, born in 1881, and Lewis A. in 1886, are all at home. The mother of these children was removed by death in 1892.
In his political opinions he belongs to the great Democratic party and rejoices at the late success of Democratic principles. November 17, 1892, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Susie E. Saxton, a daugh- ter of Lilburn P. and Louesa Agnes (Garnett) Ar- nold. Her father lives in Boone County, Ky., but the mother is deceased.
G EORGE QUISENBERRY, for many years one of the most enterprising, able and energetic citizens of Saline County, Mo., and a late resident of section 25, township 52, range 20, was a man of high character and unblemished reputa- tion. As President of the Farmers' Savings Bank of Marshall, and as President of the Citizens' Bank of Slater, his business methods and kindhness of
manner gained him the esteem and confidenee of all with whom he came in contact. Ever inter- ested in public improvements, and a leader in be- nevolent and religious organizations, the death of Mr. Quisenberry, which occurred on the 25th of April, 1889, was a public loss, and one deplored by the entire community.
Our subject was born in Orange County, Va., in 1813. His family were of Scotch descent, but his father was a native Virginian, and served bravely in the War of 1812, for which his family afterward received a pension. The Quisenberry family were well represented during the days of the Revolutionary War, and did their duty nobly on the field, participating in the decisive battles of that struggle for liberty. Daniel and Mary (Rhoades) Quisenberry were the parents of seven children, our subject being the eldest of the three brothers and four sisters. Richard II. was born in Virginia in 1816, and married Miss Mary Monroe, who died; her husband was again married, and the second wife is also dead. This son is a suc- cessful agriculturist, and resides in Carroll County. Thomas was born in the Old Dominion, married and lost his wife by death in Tennessee. Daniel, born in Virginia in 1826, married Miss Owens. Ile made his home in Saline County, where he was prospered, and after a life of useful: ess, passed away in 1887. Auna R., born in Virginia, was united in marriage with E. D. Garrett, and made her home in Saline County until her death in 1847, surviving her husband, a successful farmer, who died in 1815, two years. Elizabeth, born in 1822, was the wife of William MeDaniel, and re- sided in Carroll County, where she died in 1849. Mary S., born in 1831, married George Norvell, who died in 1870. Ile was engaged in farming in Saline County at the time of his death.
George Quisenberry was educated in the sub- scription schools of Virginia, and while a mere boy was working as an overseer of a plantation, whose owner was a large slave-holder. Ile re- ceived for his services $8 per month, and con- tinued in this employment until in 1837 he ambitionsly set forth with his mother and brother for a long and wearisome journey to Mis- souri, traveling by that sure but slow conveyance,
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a cart and oxen. Arriving in Saline County with a small amount of money but a large capital of energy, hope and self-reliance, George invested Ins savings in Government land, still known as the old Quisenberry homestead, and his mother added to his one hundred and sixty acres a like amount of land, making their united farm three hundred and twenty acres in extent. In a brief time a primitive log house afforded the family comfortable shelter, and the improvement of the land was pursued with ardor.
In 1819, Mr. Quisenberry, attracted by the glit- tering gold of California, went to the Pacific Coast, but only experienced suffering and disap- pointment, and was glad to return to his home in 1851. Entering again into the duties of agricul- ture, it was but comparatively a brief time before Mr. Quisenberry had made good his losses occa- sioned by his trip, and from this date forward en- joyed prosperity, and became one of the most ex- tensive growers of hemp and tobacco, and was especially successful in raising and fattening cattle and other stock. Meantime, our subject had long since married Miss Martha Kinnear, who was born in Virginia, in 1814. Mr. and Mrs. Quisenberry were blessed with the birth of five children, of whom but twosurvive. William Quisenberry, born in Saline County, Mo., in 1842, served four years in the army of the South, and died in 1878; George, born in Saline County, in 1844, remains upon the home place engaged in farming; Daniel, born in Saline County, in 1848, remained at home until his death; Jolm, born in 1852, in Saline County, married Miss Rose Wright, and follows the pursuit of agriculture; Gusteen, born in 1856, died in 1862.
Our subject was deprived by death of his first wife, who died in 1872, and in 1874 he married Miss Sarah E. Reynolds, who was born in Jefferson County, Ky., in 1838. There were three children born of this union, two of whom are yet living: Thomas E. Quisenberry, born in Saline County, in 1875, was educated in the common schools of the town of Cambridge, and having there completed his preparatory studies, is now (1893) attending the William Jewell College; Betty Quisenberry, born in 1878, is an accomplished musician, and is
yet studying in the home schools. Mr. Quisen- berry and his family have been important factors in the social and religious world of their immediate home and neighborhood. Our subject was a mem- ber, and at the time of his death filled the position of Treasurer, of the Baptist Church of Good Hope, which sustained a severe loss in the decease of so capable and upright a man and devoted Christian citizen. Ile was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and politically, was a Dem- oerat, but always favored the best man for the of- fice. At times, in early days, unfortunate in busi- ness experience, the latter part of his life was full of honor and continued prosperity. As President of two flourishing banking institutions he com- manded a leading position in the county, and was numbered among the prominent and thoroughly reliable business men of the State. Always the same energetic, faithful, efficient and courteous gentleman, ready at all times with word and deed to help others on their upward way, his memory will long endure.
S AMUEL P. BASCOM. The old aphorism "that blood will tell" is applicable to man as well as the lower creatures. The quali- ties, physical, mental and moral, are handed down from one generation to another, giving bias to the thought and action of the individual man. The subject of our sketch is happy in his ancestors, he having come from a good old stock of sturdy, worthy and intelligent men and women. Ils father was Alpheus Bascom, a native of New York State. The family of Bascom is descended from Huguenot stock, and came from England to Amer- ica in 1650, settling in Massachusetts. The mother of our subject was Cassandra (Cruet) Bascom, a native of Brown County, Ohio, she being the third wife of Alphous Bascom.
The first wife of the latter was Hannah (Houk) Baseom, by whom he had eight children, the sec-
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ond child being Bishop Henry Biddleman Bascom, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, one of the most eloquent divines that ever lived in America. who died in the year 1850. The second wife bore the maiden name of Rachel Ellis, and by her he had one child, now deceased. Three
children were the produet of the third marriage, two of them living, James C., in California, and our subject. Samuel's parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the father being an earnest worker in the same. They were mar- ried in Ohio, where they lived for many years. I'pon the death of the husband, in 1834, Bishop Bascom took the widow and fatherless children to Kentucky, where she died in 1842. Of the large family, but two are now living.
Our subject was born August 27, 1827, in Brown County, Ohio, and accompanied his mother and Bishop Bascom to Kentucky. In the follow- ing year he went to Lexington. Ky., the Bishop having been elected President of Transylvania University. Here he had excellent opportunities for instruction, but, as he says, did not always im- prove them. At the beginning of the Mexican War he enlisted in Capt. Beard's Company, First Regiment Kentucky Cavalry. under Humphrey Marshall. The company received arms at Louis- ville and was then sent to Memphis, to Little Rock, to Fulton (on the Red River), to Port Luvika and on to Monterey. Mr. Bascom was taken sick in Arkansas and sent back to Lexington, Ky., to await further orders. Ile remamed in the service one year and was honorably discharged at the expira- tion of that time. Kentucky continued to be his home until 1851. when he came to La Fayette County. Ile raised one crop in Clay County, then bought a farm one mile south of Higginsville, in Davis Township. and lived in the latter place about fifteen years.
Mr. Bascom has lived in nearly every township in La Fayette County. In the year 1883, he made final choice and settled upon a farm of his pur- chase in section 22, township 19, range 28, and has resided there ever since. In 1868 he entered the mercantile business at Aullville, opening the first box of goods ever displayed there. keeping the first railroad supply store in the village, and
maintaining it three years, when he retired to the farm. It seems to be manifest that Mr. Bascom's forte lies in farming and stock-raising.
Our subject was married in December, 1850, to Letitia Dinwiddie, a native of Lincoln County, Ky., and daughter of John Simpson Dinwiddie, a native of the same county and State, and a son of John Dinwiddie, a native of Virginia, and a de- scendant of Governor Dinwiddie, of the latter State. The mother of Mrs. Baseom was Elizabeth (Walker) Dinwiddie, a native of Lincoln County, Ky., and a daughter of Jesse Walker, an early settler of that State. Jesse Walker married in Kentucky and resided there all of his days; he was a farmer and a soldier in the War of 1812, being present at the massacre in the River Basin. Of the four children of her parents, Mrs. Bascom is the only survivor. She was born January 6, 1827, in Lincoln County, where she received an excel- lent education in the private schools. ller father departed this life in 1830, while her mother lived until 1845.
Mr. and Mrs. Bascom became the parents of nine children, eight of whom are living, as follows: Walker, Cassandra, Belle, Jennie, Frank Dinwid- die. Lee, Sammel, Jr., and Charles Andrew. All of the children have received excellent educational advantages. Walker is a graduate of the Uni- versity of Michigan and also of the law depart- ment of the same and is now practicing at Odessa. Frank graduated at Westminster College and is now in the senior year at the MeCormick Theo- logieal Institute, at Chicago. Belle is a graduate of the Normal School at Warrensburgh. Two of the daughters of Mr. Bascom are teachers. Mrs. Baseom is a devout member of the Old-school Presbyterian Church.
Our subjeet was an old-line Whig before the war, but became a Democrat and has always been very active in politics, being strong in his opin- ions and having the courage to give expression to them. Ile was elected County Assessor of La Fay- ette County in 1860, receiving the highly compli- mentary popular expression of twenty-seven hun- dred majority. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in Capt. Bowman's Company, Missouri State Guards, was made Commissary with the rank
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of Captain, served six months, and was discharged in Arkansas because of illness. Mr. and Mrs. Bas- com are peculiarly fortunate in this, that they have reared eight children. the youngest of whom is twenty-four years of age, and there has not been a death in their family for forty years, nor has there been a marriage. They have enjoyed almost absolute immunity from sickness, every member at the home gathering last summer, when all were present, appearing to be the picture of absolutely perfect health.
HOMAS A. HOGAN, a representative citizen and prominent business man, now control- ling the extensive livery, feed, sale and training stables in Slater, Saline County, Mo., has been for many years an eye-witness of the development of Missouri, and intimately associ- ated with the business growth and progress of his present home. Ile was born in Boone County, Ky., near Burlington, December 20, 1844. llis paternal grandfather Hogan came from North Caro- lina to Kentucky in a very early day, and settled upon a farm, where he followed the pursuit of agriculture.
David Ilogan, the father of Thomas A., was born in Kentucky, but in 1851 journeyed to Missouri, coming by boat to Old Cambridge; he bought a farm in Miami Township, and devoted himself to farming, which in that locality then consisted mostly in raising hemp. In later days he engaged in general farming and stock-raising. In 1862, he returned to Boone County, Ky., and remained there till the close of the war. He afterward re- turned to Burlington and ran a grocery business. Ile was a good citizen, and an honest, upright man, and passed away after a useful life in 1891, aged seventy-nine years.
The mother of Mr. Hogan was a native of Ken- tueky, and died there in 1863. ller maiden name was Virginia Watts, and her grandfather was a pioneer Virginia farmer. She was the de-
voted mother of five children, but two of whom are now living. The daughter. Malvina, now Mrs. Whittaker, resides near Miami. Our subject re- mained upon his father's farm from 1857 to 1862, and attended the district school, which was lo- eated on the homestead. In 1865 he engaged in farming in Kentucky, and continued there until 1867, when he came back to Missouri and settled near Miami. From sixteen years of age Mr. Hogan has given much time to the training of horses for the saddle, and has been especially skillful in break- ing and training the most spirited and fiery ani- mals. Many of the handsomest and finest step- ping horses of the State owe their gait and general carriage to his careful handling of them when they were only colts.
In 1875 Mr. Ilogan was united in marriage with Miss Martha Wheeler, who was born in Saline County. a daughter of Stephen Wheeler, an old settler and farmer of this locality. Our subject owned two hundred and thirty aeres of valuable land about four miles east of Miami, and cultivated his farm until 1888, when he sold out and moved to Miami, was there two months, and in the follow- ing fall came to Slater and opened a fine livery and sale stable, and has since condueted the busi- ness successfully, and there as in the past he has given the most of his time to the training of valu- able saddle horses. Mr. Ilogan's first partner in the business was George Dyer, who remained in the firm until the month of August, 1890, when our subjeet became sole owner and managed the entire business himself, and, energetic and ambi- tious, and thoroughly understanding his work, prospered, and built a handsome and commodious barn, 35x190 feet, intended solely for the accom- modation and training of saddle horses.
Mr. and Mrs. Ilogan and their estimable family are well-known residents of Slater, and enjoy a large acquaintance. Of the six children born to them, four bright and promising sons and daugh- ters survive, as follows: Ethel, the eldest. a charm- ing girl; Wheeler, Charles and Lucy. Mrs. Hogan is a member of the Baptist Church, and both she and her husband are ready to assist in the good work of that organization, and also take an active part in all enterprises of general interest, whether
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they be benevolent, religious or social. Our sub- jeet is a Knight of Pythias, and a valued member of that well-known organization. In political affili- ations he endorses the views held by the Demo- crats. He has never been an office-seeker, but is interested in the management of public affairs, and never shirks his duty as an American citizen, and has served with ability on the petit jury. Our sub- ject is an expert in his business, and trains more horses than any other man in his section of the country, and has had the satisfaction of seeing numberless horses he has trained take the first prizes at the fairs in different portions of the State.
W A. REYNOLDS, assistant cashier in the Slater Savings Bank, is distinguished as being the youngest bank official in the county. Ilis shrewdness and ability in business, as well as his reliability and activity, make him one of the best men for the position that it would be possible to procure. He is one of those young men whom it is good to have in a growing town, and the citizens of Slater recognize that fact.
Mr. Reynolds' ancestry is given elsewhere in this volume in connection with that of his brother, R. M. Reynolds, of Marshall. We will state here that he was born December 25, 1868, near Sulphur Springs, Saline County, Mo. He is a son of P. T. and Mattie Reynolds, the former of whom was born near Blackwater, in Saline County. W. A. passed his childhood at Arrow Rock, receiving his education in the public schools. In 1883, he be- came a student at the Slater High School, com- pleting the course there; at the same time he spent the hours out of school in assisting his father in the store which the latter conducted. At the age of eighteen. he became book-keeper and teller in the Savings Bank, remaining there four years. Ile was also a stockholder in the institution. In 1890, he became assistant cashier. which position he has ever since held.
Mr. Reynolds has been agent for the Standard
Oil Company, the main office of which is in Kansas City, and has the eastern part of Saline County in his charge. Ile was one of the organizers of the Missouri Guarantee Savings and Building Association, of which he has been Secretary since its incorporation. This is a branch of the main association, which was established at Hannibal. Our subject is the owner of the finest residence in East Slater, the plans of which were his own.
February 3, 1892, at Marshail. Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Rena Sappington, great- granddaughter of Dr. William Sappington, one of the organizers of Saline County. She is a dangh- ter of William B. Sappington, Jr., now deceased, and was reared at Marshall, receiving her educa- tion at the St. Savior Academy. Mr. Reynolds is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, hold- ing the office of Junior Warden; he is also a Royal Arch Mason and belongs to the Knights of Pythias, being Master of the Exchequer. He is the Treas- urer of the National Union. In politics, he is a Demoerat.
It is indeed seldom that we find so young a man occupying a position of so much responsibility as that filled by Mr. Reynolds, and the citizens of Slater have good reason to feel proud of him, not alone because he has been able to attain such a place. but because he holds as a solemn trust the mterests of all concerned. He has proved himself a thoroughly capable, keen, clear-sighted business man, and it requires no great prophetic ability to prediet for him a brilliant career, and all who know him feel sure that it will be as honorable as it already is promising.
S AMUEL M. GREENE, a druggist and lead- ing business man of Grand Pass, Saline County, Mo., has spent his entire life in this county, where he was born February 16, 1850. The family is of Irish descent. The grandfather removed from Virginia to Kentucky,
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where he spent the remainder of his days. The father of our subject, Alexander Greene, was born in New Kent, Va., March 30, 1813, and with his parents removed to Kentucky at the age of eight years, and located near Bowling Green. He had two brothers, Fay and Edward, both now de- ceased, and a sister, Julia, now the wife of James Hoeker, of Cass County, Mo.
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