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 52
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 52
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capacity of fifty thousand bushels and is an im- portant factor in the business of buying and ship- ping grain.
Our subject owns and operates a fourteen hun- dred acre farm in the Bottom, and there raises stock, feeds cattle. and conducts general farming, planting five hundred acres in wheat; he is also the proprietor of two hundred and twenty well- improved acres at Malta Bend. Aside from this valuable property, Mr. Vanstone owns a fifty-acre tract at Raytown, seven miles from Kansas City. and also has four hundred and eighty acres in the State of Kansas. Our subject was married in baynesville. November 8, 1871, to Miss Mary E. Blaine, who was born in Ohio. and died January 1, 1880, leaving four children, of whom Ethel. Ida, and Samuel survive.
Upon September 10, 1884, Mr. Vanstone was united in marriage with Miss Lula, born in Win- chester, Ky., a daughter of Willis Sphar. born in the same vicinity. ller paternal grandfather, Capt. James Sphar, was the first male child born in Clark County. Ky .. his birthplace being Strodes Fort. Ilis parents came from Virginia, and were early settlers and farmers in the State. Capt. Sphar farmed in Clark County, as did also his son, the father of Mrs. Vanstone. Willis Sphar entered the Confederate service in 1862, and held an official position. lle was a member of the Christian Church, and an upright man and useful citizen, and passed to his rest in Monticello, Ky., dying of brain fever. The grandmother, Mary (Traey) Sphar, was a native of Kentucky. and a daughter of Col. Tracy, who served in the Mexican War and in the Civil War. and who was an early set- tler in Winchester, Ky. Her mother, Mary, born in Kentucky, was a daughter of Roland Suther- land, born in Virginia, of Scotch deseendants, and large planters of the South.
Mrs. Vanstone's mother resides near Marshall and is now Mrs. Coats. Mrs. Vanstone is the youngest of her parents' children, was born in 1863, and came with her mother to Missouri, but went back to her native State and was educated there at Mt. Hope College, Midway, and graduated from that institution of learning in 1881. She is an accom- plished lady, and a fine music teacher, and is the
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mother of two sons, Dearborn S. and Charles N. The family reside in a handsome residence, No. 326 Eastwood Avenue. have a large cirele of friends, and are among the prominent members and attendants of the Christian Church, and Mr. Vanstone is a member of the Building Committee. Mrs. Vanstone is a member of the Chautauqua So- ciety of Music, and the Arion Musical Society. Our subjeet affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in politics is an independent, using his judgment in the selection of the eandi- date for the place.
E RNEST Y. HARVEY, the second of the family of four children born to Thomas R. E. Harvey and wife, saw the light for the first time in the house where he now resides, in September, 1861. Ilis aneestry is more fully given in the biographical sketch of his father, which will be found elsewhere. Mr. Ilarvey was reared on the farm, educated in the subscription schools of the county, and afterward at Central College of lIoward County. About 1882, he was graduated from the Gem City Commercial College of Quiney.
In 1885, Mr. Harvey married Miss Ora Marma- duke, daughter of M. M. and Mollie Marmaduke, and engaged in farming for a short time, then re- moved to Kansas City, and after another brief period to Ft. Worth, Tex. In September, 1890, he returned to the old home, where he has since lived, managing the farm and doing a successful business.
Mr. Harvey espoused the cause of the people when the People's party was in its infancy, and has been true to the cause ever since. Ile is a man of earnestness and power, and has done a great deal of active work for the party with which he affiliates, having made several speeches in its interests, besides doing general work, and the numerous little things that go to make success. Ile was appointed Assistant Lecturer of the County Alliance in the summer of 1892, and as such has
found plenty to do. He is honest in his convic- tions, and whatever personal beliefs may be op- posed to him, he commands the respect of all.
Mr. Harvey has one brother, Thomas H., who is Prosecuting Attorney of Saline County, and an- other, Horace G., who is a physician and surgeon of Denver, having been graduated from the St. Louis Medical College. He was assistant surgeon in the hospital there. Previous to this he was graduated from Central College, of Howard Coun- ty, as was also Thomas II., and both, at different periods, occupied the Chair of Languages there.
Mr. Harvey comes of an influential family, and is himself a man of power in the community, and a citizen whom Saline County points to as one of her ablest. A young man, he is in a posi- tion of responsibility and trust in the public gift, and in a business sense he is prosperous and fully equal to the duties devolving upon him.
EREMIADI GRAVES, a prominent farmer of Saline County, Mo., resides upon a fine farm of two hundred acres on sections 21 and 22, township 51, range 21. The par- ents of our subject were Edward and Nancy (Willis) Graves, both of whom were natives of Virginia, where they were married. They became the honored parents of nine children, as follows: Polly; Ilannah, who married the Rev. William Whittaker; John W., who died near St. Louis when the cholera raged there; Sallie, who became the wife of Owen Curtley; Ann, Emily, our sub- ject, and two babes who died. Mr. Graves of this notice is the only one of the family now living.
Grandfather Graves was a native of Virginia and an old Revolutionary soldier. Ile reared a family of twelve children, all of whom had good constitutions and grew to maturity. These chil- dren became in turn heads of families, and, no doubt, the numerous persons of this name in the ITmited States came from this beginning in the Virginia home.
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Our subject was born in Boone County. Ky .. January 4, 1818, and lived there until 1853, when he came to Saline County, Mo. In 1817 be mar- ried Marietta F., a daughter of Robert Willis, of Virginia, in which State the marriage took place. In the fall of 1853 our subject and his wife came to this county, and here bought a farm of three hundred and forty acres; he continued to accu- mulate land until he was the owner of six hundred acres. Here this couple have reared the following children: Laura E., who died at the age of seven- teen years; Jolm W .; Ralph T .. of Oregon: Hugh 1 .. Susan E .: M. Lena, who became the wife of the Rev. D. C. Bolton. of Miami; Edward L .; Emma; Nannie, who became the wife of E. K. Stevens, of Boone County, Ky., and is located on a part of the old farm; and Albert S.
Mr. Graves has accumulated his valuable prop- erty since coming to this State. At one time he owned twelve slaves. Now his land comprises many acres in this county, and a fine place of two hundred acres in Florida, where for the past seven years he has spent the winter. All of the family belong to the Missionary Baptist Church, and are much thought of in that connection. The politics of the family have been Democratie. for long years, and Mr. Graves is a stanch supporter of that party. He is highly respected in every quar- ter, but especially so in his church relations, as he has been liberal and active in all matters per- taining to her advancement. lle is one of the men the county could not well spare.
ILLIAM HARRIS is a native of the beau- tiful State of Tennessee, in which the diversity of Nature's pictures is as great as that of Switzerland. With its cloud-capped mountains, its tumbling rivers and waterfalls, and palisaded banks. it vies in picturesqueness with any portion of the country. Mr. Harris did not, however, remain in his native State long enough
to become imbned with the sense of its superiority. for in 1828, one year after his birth, he was brought to Missouri by his parents. His father settled in Sniabar Township, La Fayette County. on land that is now in possession of our subject, and which is his place of residence.
Mr. Harris' father was a native of old Virginia. and was born in 1801. Ile removed to Tennessee with the family when only twelve years old, and in 1824 married Miss Catherine Smith, a native of his adopted State. In 1828 the family removed to La Fayette County. Of his parents' nine chil- dren. our subject is the eldest now hving. Grand- father llarris was a private in the Revolutionary War.
After acquiring a practical education in his boy- hood days, William Harris started out in life for himself at the age of twenty-four. Ile then mar- ried Miss Mary Joyner, a native of North Caro- lina, who was born November 7, 1830. The young couple began housekeeping on the farm which is still the family home. It is located on section 32, Sniabar Township. La Fayette County. Ilere he owns two hundred and twenty acres, which are under excellent cultivation.
Mr. and Mrs. Harris are the parents of five chil- dren: they are all grown and are married, and have families of their own. A pleasant feature of their family life is that the children all live with- in a radius of a few miles of the parents. When the Harrises first settled in Sniabar Township, there were only nine voters, while the original inhabi- tants of the land-the turkey, deer and other small game-were still in possession, not having been frightened as yet away by the encroachments of the lords of creation. Mr. Harris has seen as many as fifteen deer browsing in a herd near the neighboring streams. Now there are nine hundred voters in the township, and the farming locality is well cultivated and nearly as garden-like as the best agricultural district of old England itself. Mr. Harris was elected Justice of the Peace, and has held the office for twelve consecutive years. Dur- ing that time he has married six couples, and the humorous feature of this duty has been that he has started them in life by paying the Recorder's fee, never having received a fee for himself. In
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politics our subject is a Democrat, and the Baptist Church is the one with which he is connected in a religious way.
LARK W. ROBINSON, a well-known resi- dent of La Fayette County, Mo., located upon his large and productive farm of four hundred and fifty-six acres of land on section 8, township 49, range 26, is the subject of this no- tiee. Ile was born in the same county, Novem- ber 1, 1827, the son of John and Euphemia (Jones) Robinson, both of whom were natives of Virginia. John Robinson went from his old Virginia home into the wilderness of Missouri some time in the '20s, before many settlers had crossed the great Father of Waters. His choice of home was in La Fayette County, where he located a short distance east of the present site of Lexington, thus being one of the earliest inhabitants.
At this pleasant home John Robinson resided for many years, and then removed into township 49, range 26, on section 8, where he lived for many years more. He became one of the largest farmers of the county, but later removed to Texas, where his death occurred shortly after the elose of the war. Of his family of four children, our subject is the only remaining member. His early days were passed on the farm. At that time there was but little improvement around his home. Farming was still done by the use of oxen, mar- kets were far away, and game was plentiful over the country.
The education of our subject was received in the schools called "subscription," but at that time it was difficult to have even these carried on, and one might say that for all practical purposes Mr. Robinson has been self-taught, and sometimes in the sad school of experience. His early life was passed in agricultural pursuits, and since that time he has not cared to make any change. To the . real farmer, the upturned earth, the opening buds,
the growth of cereals, responding to the labor of the farmer, and showing great fields of waving grain, are truly delightful, and would not be ex- changed for the vicissitudes of life in any other path.
In this locality Mr. Robinson grew up as a pio- neer, and has seen with pleasure the development which has taken place all over the county. Where once was but the unbroken prairie, green in spring with wild grasses and sprinkled with brilliant flowers, he hears the church and school bells and the hum of the railroad engine or manufacturing machinery. In his political faith our subject is a follower of Democratie principles, and is one of the most highly respected men in the community. Ilis integrity is unquestioned, and his simple promise goes as far as does the sworn word of many.
RS. ELIZA PEARSON, a lady of intelli- gence and worth, an early settler of Mis- souri and widow of O. B. Pearson, a man of sterling integrity of character, was born in Halifax County, N. C., November 8, 1819. She is the daughter of John D. and Elizabeth (Hutcherson) Eelbeck, who were of English de- scent, and it is supposed that the paternal grand- father of Mrs. Pearson was a native of England. Ile was Henry Mumford Eelbeck and well known in North Carolina, where he settled in an early day in the history of this Republie. The children of llenry Eelbeck were John D., his only son and the father of our subject. and three daughters, Sarah, Dorothy and Elizabeth. John D. Eelbeck was born December 29, 1783, and died in Halifax County. N. C., November 15, 1820. Ilis children were Daniel, Henry J., and Eliza, our subject.
O. B. Pearson, the husband of our subjeet, now deceased, was one of the prominent and enterpris- ing citizens of Saline County, and highly respected for his energy, ability and upright life. His death was mourned as a public loss by the entire com- munity among whom he had so long dwelt. Mr.
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Pearson was born in South Carolina, October 22, 1794, at Spartanburg, and died May 10, 1871. The father of Mr. Pearson died when O. B. was a mere hoy, and soon after the death of her Imsband the widowed mother took her children to Louisiana and there made her home. Her children were William. O. B., Lucinda and Keziah. After attaining to manhood. Mr. Pearson went to Nor- folk, Va., and there spent a number of years. Ile was a successful trader and soon made himself a home. marrying for his first wife Miss Sarah Wight, by whom he had five children: Austin W., Amanda D., Harriet W., Elizabeth P. and Sarah B.
Soon after his marriage, Mr. Pearson removed to Mississippi and located near Vicksburg, where his mother was then living. Mr. Pearson's first wife died December 28, 1811. He then brought his mother from Mississippi to Arrow Rock, and here his faithful and devoted parent passed away, December 5, 1851. lle engaged in merchandising upon his removal to Arrow Rock, and bought the land where the family now resides. In time he gave up his business and located upon the land, which consisted of some six hundred acres in town- ship 50, range 19, which he afterward brought under high cultivation, the value of which has been doubled and trebled since its purchase so many years ago. After the death of his mother Mr. Pearson returned to Virginia and traveled upon business throughout that State and North C'arolina.
Mr. Pearson met the subject of our sketch, Miss Eliza F. Eelbeck, when in North Carolina, and they were married February 26, 1845, and with her he returned to Missouri and there settled upon his farm. The children who blessed with their presence the home were George F., Richard Z., Henry C. and Roxana, all well known in Arrow Rock and esteemed by a large circle of lifetime friends and acquaintances. Mr. Pearson was never an active politician but had an abiding interest in both national and local issues, and was a Democrat stanch and true. Ile firmly believed in the right and justice of the Southern Confederacy, and al- though his advanced age prevented his taking an active part in the scenes of those troublous days, his heart was in the cause, and Richard Z., a lad
of tender years, enlisted in the service of the Con- federate Government and was distinguished for his gallant conduct and bravery amid scenes of danger and death.
Mr. Pearson was a member of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church and was a liberal giver in its support and church extension. Hle suffered great financial losses by the war. as he owned a large number of slaves. but with his native ability and energy he adapted himself to the situ- ation and did the best to make good what he had lost. Mr. and Mrs. Pearson enjoyed the esteem and confidence of a host of true friends, and when death deprived our subject of her husband and companion of many long years, she had the full sympathy of all the community and surrounding neighborhood. Descending into the vale of years, Mrs. Pearson rests content, knowing that in that better land the tears are wiped from all eyes and all will be well with God's beloved.
R EV. HENRY HOEFER, the pioneer minis- ter of the city of Higginsville. is pastor of the German Evangelical Church. He is a native of Germany, having been born in Lippe-Detmold, September 25, 1836, and his father, Ilerman lloofer, was also a native of Germany. (For further history of the family, see sketch of Charles Hoefer.) Our subject is the fifth of six children, and was reared on his father's farm until he was eighteen years of age. During that time he enjoyed the school advantages of other boys, and in the fall of 1851 came to America from Bre- men on a sailing-vessel, which was named "Diana." Hle landed in New Orleans, and from that city made his way to Warren County. Mo., where he entered the Evangelical Missouri College, at Marthasville (at present at St. Louis), from which he was graduated in 1858. - lle was then ordained and stationed near Evansville, Ind., as a minister of the Evangelical Zion's Church, and there he remained seven years, during which time the con-
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gregation increased rapidly and built a school at that place. In 1866, he was called to the pastorate of the German Evangelical St. John's Chureb, at Freeport, IH., and remained there for four years. In 1870, he came to this city and organized the German Evangelical Church here.
As soon as he arrived, Mr. Hoefer began his work of organization, and a small church was built under his management. Moving to Con- cordia, he organized a congregation there and built a church, but in 1877 returned to Higgins- ville, and has since continued to fill the pulpit of the church his efforts built. Not satisfied with his work in the church, Mr. Ilvefer taught in the par- ishi school here while it was still in its infancy, and gave religions instruction to the children of the congregation. lle is so popular a preacher that very soon the congregation outgrew the old building, and in 1882, on the old site, a new edifice was erected. which is the largest church in the city. In 1892, the congregation built a fine par- sonage for their minister. at a cost of $2,200, and this commodious residence is situated on grounds comprising half a block.
When Mr. Hoefer began his work of organiza- tion in 1870 there were about eight families; now his congregation numbers sixty-five families. In the Sunday-school he is doing a great deal of good, as he has about one hundred and fifty-five pupils at present, and the attendance is constantly in- creasing. This earnest pastor teaches a Bible class every Sunday and preaches two sermons on that day. In addition to the work already mentioned, he organized a congregation and built a church at Mayview, this county, in 1878, but when they be- came self-supporting he withdrew. In politics, he is a stanch Republican, and, next to his religious duties, he regards his responsibilities as a citizen most binding. He has been honored by his Synod with several offices, among which was that of Vice- president of the West Missouri District of the Evangelieal Synod of North America, and he is now serving as Cashier of the same.
The Rev. Ilenry Hoefer was united in mar- miage in Warren County, Mo., in 1859, to Miss Minnie Schnieder, a native of Germany, who was reared in Warren County. This lady
bore her husband four children, who are liv- ing now, namely: Theodore, a graduate of Ehn- hurst College, and at present a teacher in the Ger- man school; John, Emelia and Martin, who are at home. Mr. Iloefer is an earnest worker, and has accomplished much good during his long pastor- ate. IIe has gained the hearts of his people, and is worthy of the esteem and confidence he inspires in all.
E DWIN HAYNIE, the subject of these me- moirs, was one of the pioneers of Saline County, Mo. lle came of good Scotch an- eestry, and his parents, Lawrence and Judy Haynie, were natives of Virginia, where they were engaged in farming.
Our subject was born in Northumberland County, Va., in January, 1803. He grew to maturity in his native county and received his education in the common schools there. His first marriage was with a young lady who lived but a few months afterward. January 22, 1836. he took for a life companion Miss Polly, the daughter of Nathan Moore, and one son, Rufus W., was born of this marriage. In the fall of 1836, the family landed in Saline County, Mo., a few miles southwest of Miami, and took up and bought forty acres of land, afterward proving up and securing another eighty acres. On that farm were born three sons, Edwin M., Austin 11., and Ethelbert, all of whom are good, substantial farmers.
Mrs. Ilaynie died here in January, 1852, and our subject afterward married Lurany, the widow of .John Williams, and to this union were born six children, as follows: Lurany, who became the wife of Charles Ileisel, of Miami; James B., of Florida; Elizabeth L., who married Thomas Bankhead; William B., of Nelson; Lawrence; and Annie L., who married Patrick Duty, of Nelson. In his po- htical convietions, Mr. Ilaynie was a Democrat, and boldly upheld the principles of that party. Rufus W., Edwin M. and Austin all served in the
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Confederate service, the first-named taking part all through the war. Edwin M. enlisted in May. 1861. and was under Gen. Marmaduke. in Com- pany E. of the cavalry. He was afterward with Shelby in Company E, First Missouri Cavalry. and was captured at Cape Girardeau. and taken to Camp Douglas, where he was held for seven- teen months. He received a four-ounce minie- ball through his leg, but the wound soon healed and he became perfectly well again. At the close of the war Edwin came home, and in 1867 en- gaged in farming on a rented farm; in August he married Miss Sara E. Grayson, although at this time he was over $300 in debt.
However, Edwin Haynie was not easily discour- aged, and after marriage entered with added energy into the business of farming. His first purchase of land was in 1871, when he bought one hundred and fifty-four and one-half acres where he now lives, and has since added to this until he now owns six hundred and five acres in the county, all of which he has made by his own efforts. He raises cattle and hogs, and has been in all of his under- takings visited with the most signal success. Mrs. Ilaynie is a member of the Baptist Church, but Mr. Haynie atliliates with the Christian denomina- tion. Ilis choice in political matters is the Demo- cratic party, and he is ready at all times to give good and sufficient, as well as convincing, reasons why it is so. An interesting family of eight bright children have grown up about his hearth, and they are named Edwin II., John R., Robert 1 ... Elmer J., Sarah E., Price G., Mary J. and Angie F.
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ILLIAM GRIFFITTS, a farmer and stock- raiser on section 12, township 51, range 21, Saline County, where he owns eighty acres of land, was born in Morgan County, Ill., February 11. 1833, and lived in that and Hancock County until he reached maturity. He is the ekl- est of five children who reached mature years, and
were the offspring of John and Mary (Stanley) (riflitts. who were natives, respectively, of Ken- tucky and Tennessee, and were born in the years 1807 and 1809, respectively. These children are: William and Richard. of Illinois; James, of lowa; George, of Illinois; and Susan, wife of John Shanks.
William's paternal grandfather, James Griflitts. was probably a native of Virginia, and served four years in the Revolutionary War. under Gen. Wayne, and also in the War of 1812, at the latter time being under Gen. Jackson for three years. lle was in the battle of New Orleans, that mem- orable battle in which the British lost their gen- eral and about seventeen hundred men, killed and wounded, while the American loss was only eight killed and thirteen wounded. James Grillitts was a son of German parents, and was a successful farmer, as was also his son, the father of William. The family have, in fact, been farmers all down the line.
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