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 72
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 72
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Grandfather Conrad died in 1864, and his good wife survived him about four years. This worthy couple were faithful members of the Lutheran Church, and were ever consistent Christians. George Conrad learned his trade of wagon-maker in his native land and followed this occupation during his comparatively brief life, dying in 1854, at about thirty-six years of age. Ile left a widow and three children. Henry, our subject, was the eldest; the second son, John, is a resident of Mis- souri; and the little daughter passed away at two years of age. The mother afterward married Lewis Zemme, and bore her second husband two children, Margaret and Lewis, and is still living and makes her home with her husband in Illinois. Our subject was reared upon a farm, and received his early education in the Lutheran Church School, finally completing his studies by a two-winters course of instruction after he had worked for two years at the blacksmith's trade.
At seventeen years of age, Ilenry Conrad began the struggle of life for himself, working out by the month until the 19th of August, 1861, when he enlisted in Company D), Twenty-sixth Illinois In- fantry. Our subject was a brave and ardent sup- porter of the Government of his adopted country, and faithfully engaged in the battles of Island No. 10, siege of Corinth, Iuka, Missionary Ridge, Corinth, and was present at the engagements of Jackson, Miss., and the siege of Vicksburg. Severely wounded at Missionary Ridge, he was captured and imprisoned in Libby and Belle Is- land, and from March to August experienecd the horrors of Andersonville. He was then taken to Charleston, S. C., and from the Ist of September to February was imprisoned there and in Florence, N. C. Finally Mr. Conrad was marched to Rich- mond, and was paroled, and came to St. Louis, where his health received attention for four weeks in the hospital. He was then given a month's
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furlough, at the expiration of which time he re- ported at Springfickl, and in June, 1865, received from the Government his honorable discharge from military service.
Soon after our subject engaged in work upon a farm, and in the spring of 1867 came to Cass County. Mo., and for two years farmed upon rented land. and then removed to Jackson County, which part of the State he made his home for seven years; he then traded his stock for ninety aeres of land. added fifty acres in the spring of 1886, and sold this property, and located on his present val- uable homestead. Mr. Conrad married Miss Susan Pierce, born in Bertie County, N. C., and the daughter of George W. and Phoebe (Meazel) Pierce. George Pierce, the grandfather of Mrs. Conrad was a planter of North Carolina, and her father. George W. Pierce, was a prosperous merchant and highly respected citizen of the same State. lle died early in life, and left one child. Mrs. Pierce married Thomas Hardin, and bore him a son and daughter, and came with her family to Illinois in an early day. The Pierce family were of the Baptist persuasion, but our subject and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad are the parents of nine children, seven of whom are now surviving. The sons and daugh- ters are: J. May, George II., William Il. and Ed- ward E. (twins), Orville, Ollie and Bertha.
Mr. Conrad is politically a Republican. and takes an active interest in the outcome of local and national issues. He has won his way upward by energetic effort and is an earnest. self-reliant and patriotic American citizen.
ON. HENRY C. WALLACE. of Lexington, Mo., was born August 18, 1823, in Wood- ford County. Ky., a son of Henry and Elizabeth Wallace, the latter a daughter of George Carlyle. a soldier of the Revolutionary War, a native of Virginia and a resident of Wood- ford County. Our subject is a descendant of one
of the oldest and most honored families of the "dark and bloody ground." Ilis ancestors are traced back to Scotland, but in this country they made their first settlement in Pennsylvania and later in Virginia. His grandfather, Caleb Wallace, was among the first settlers in that portion of Vir- ginia which was afterward taken into the State of Kentucky. In the year 1792 he was a member of four successive conventions at Danville prepar- atory to the separation of Kentucky from Virginia.
Caleb Wallace, grandfather of our subject, was also a member of the Constitutional Convention which formed the first constitution of Kentucky at Danville in 1792, as well as a member of the Constitutional Convention that framed the second constitution of Kentucky at Frankfort in 1797; also a Presidential Eleetor from Kentucky in 1797, when John Adams was elected President, and was one of the first Judges of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky. appointed in 1792, soon after that State was admitted into the Union. lle served for twenty years in the latter capacity, associated with the most distinguished jurists of Kentucky's early history, and resided successively in Lincoln, Fay- ette and Woodford Counties.
The father of our subject. Capt. Henry Wallace, was born in Kentucky March 24, 1792, soon after the admission of the State, and is supposed to have been the first male child born in the State after its admission into the Union. Capt. Wallace was a soldier of the War of 1812 with England under Gen. William HI. Harrison, and served with that oflieer in the North, which was then known as the Northwest Territory. against the hostile Indians, who were incited to deeds of violence by British emissaries. Ile participated in the battle of Mas- sissin way December 18, 1812. After the war, Capt. Wallace became a farmer and a prominent and in- fluential citizen of Woodford County, Ky., until the spring of 1844. when he removed to Missouri and settled in Lexington and resided in that vicin- ity until his death. May 27, 1875. He was a man of high moral character and unspotted integ- rity, a useful member of society and long con- nected with the Baptist Church. At his death at the advanced age of eighty-three years, he was mourned by his numerous children and grand-
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children, as well as by many of his fellow-citizens. The Hon. Caleb Wallace, the eldest brother of the subject of this sketch, was a member of the Senate of Kentucky, from Boyle County, in 1850 and 1851.
llenry C. Wallace enjoyed the advantages of Sinking Spring Academy in his native county and was attending Center College at Danville, Ky., when his father emigrated to Missouri, but was forced by impaired health, resulting from a long and severe attack of typhoid fever, to leave college in 1814. Although his health gradually improved after he removed to Missouri, it did not permit of his re- suming his collegiate course, but he continued to prosecute his studies during several years with such assistance as he could then secure at Lexing- ton. In 1847, he commenced to teach school in that town, which calling he continued for a year and a-half, after which he began the study of law with F. C. Sharp, his brother-in-law, now deceased. This gentleman afterward became a prominent member of the St. Louis Bar and is remembered for his legal ability. Mr. Wallace was admitted to practice in 1849, and after pursuing his profession for eighteen months with good success he attended the law school at Louisville, Ky., being graduated from that institution in 1851. He then returned to Lexington and has ever since been assiduously engaged in the study and practice of law.
Although often solicited by his fellow-citizens to become a candidate for Representative and Senator in the General Assembly, and by the Bar to suffer his name to be used as a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court, he has always declined, preferring the practice of his profession to the emoluments of office. Other than having held the office of Justice of the Peace and that of City At- torney, each from 1849 to 1853, he had never until his election to the Constitutional Convention, which met in 1875, desired to hold official posi- tion. The large vote he received when elected to the Constitutional Convention, in the three coun- ties composing the Seventeenth Senatorial District, La Fayette, Pettis and Saline, evinced the estima- tion in which he is held by his fellow-citizens. The proceedings of that convention will best attest the extent of his labors and the influence that he
exercised in forming the organic law of the State.
In religion our subjeet is a Baptist, belonging to the First Baptist Church of Lexington, and is and has been for twelve successive years Modera- tor of the La Fayette and Johnson Association. He is also a Knight Templar Mason. Politically, he was an old-line Whig, but since the dissolution of that party he has affiliated with and is a warm supporter of the Democratic party. Mr. Wallace married, June 4, 1863, Miss Lizzie Sharp, sister of F. C. Sharp above mentioned. and daughter of Absalom M. Sharp, of Christian County, Ky. By her he has five children surviving, three boys and two girls, the eldest being in his twenty-seventh year. In stature, Mr. Wallace is somewhat below the medium height, but of compaet build and ath- letie form. Ilis face corresponds with his physique, indicating earnestness and strength of character. In his social intercourse he is genial, polite and entertaining, at all times affable and gentlemanly in his demeanor. While giving que attention to the amenities of life and to his duties as an earnest Christian, he may be said to have devoted himself mainly to his profession.
Selecting the law as his sphere, early in life Mr. Wallace had devoted his energies to that, ignoring other aspirations to make himself what he is to- day, a thorough master of legal science in all its ramifications. The common law, the statutes of Missouri, the history, progress and growth of jur- isprudence, as well as the higher and more abstruse principles of equity, are all completely at his com- mand, constituting him a leader of the Bar, which position is readily conceded him by his associates. As a practitioner he is cautious, vigilant and inde- fatigable, contesting every point with unyiekling tenacity and employing his vast store of legal knowledge in sustaining his positions and attack- ing those of his adversary. In argument, Mr. Wallace is clear, forcible, logical and convineing, his irreproachable personal character and untarn- ished honor giving him great weight with juries, and his known ability and learning equally im- pressing the Bench. In the Supreme Court of Missouri, where he enjoys a large practice, no one lias achieved greater successes than he, his years of study and faithful toil fitting him pre-eminently
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for this branch of practice, his briefs being models of learning and research. Mr. Wallace's devotion to his profession and his native modesty have heretofore kept him in the private walks of life and caused him to shun office rather than to court it, but we know that he is eminently titted for the Bench, which he would adorn by his presence and dignify by his learning.
OBERT B. DICKEY is a prominent citizen of Lexington, Mo., and the Secretary and Treasurer of the Gas Light Company. Ile was born in Mt. Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, June 15, 1853, a son of Robert and Helen (Bell) Dickey. The early ancestors of the family were of Scotch birth, but the first one whom we can locate was the grandfather, who bore the name of William. The father of our subject was a mechanic by trade, who, in 1856, removed with his family to Ft. Wayne, Ind., where he engaged in business, As our subject was but a babe of three years at the time of the family upheaval, he has no recollection of his native State, but grew up in Ft. Wayne, attending the excellent public schools there until his graduation from the High School, at the early age of seventeen years. Ilis completing his eourse at such an age displayed his quick and intelligent understanding.
After leaving school our subjeet was appren- tieed to learn the trade of a boiler-maker, which occupied four years, and he then worked at it for two years longer. At that time he became Super- intendent of Construction for the Kerr-Murry Gas Apparatus Company, of Ft. Wayne, Ind., which position he held for a period of six years. In 1881, he removed to Lexington, Mo., where he bought out the gas works and so remodeled them that at the present time these works are the best in the State. Mr. Dickey then became the Secretary and Treasurer, and still holds these important po- sitions, giving to the citizens of Lexington the best gas they have ever used.
The political opinions of our subject have al- ways been Republican. He is a member of Sum- mit Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Ft. Wayne; Royal Arch Chapter No. 10, of Lexington; and is Treas- urer of De Molay Commandery No. 3, K. T. llis position upon the Board of Education is that of Treasurer, which he tills very acceptably. The marriage of Mr. Dickey took place in January, 1885, with Miss Maggie, daughter of Peter Nichol, of Peru, Ind., and one little daughter, Isabella II., has blessed this union. The family residence is a pleasant one, located upon Franklin Street in the city of Lexington.
B ENJAMIN F. PEACOCK is a farmer located on section 31, Dover Township, La Fayette County. Ile is a native of Virginia and was born in Loudoun County, August 28, 1838, a son of Elijah and Nancy E. (Huff) Pea- cock, both natives of that State which was so nearly devastated during the war. His mother was a daughter of William Iluff, a farmer by calling.
Mr. Peacock spent the first sixteen years of his life in his native county. Virginia is noted for its many excellent schools, and the youth acquired a good rudimentary education in the public schools in the vicinity of his home. At the same time he helped his father on the farm and acquired a good knowledge of practical agricultural work. In 1857, he determined to make a change, and, com- ing to Missouri, located in La Fayette County and commenced general farming, to which he has been constant until the present time. He is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres, all of which are under cultivation. Mr. Peacock has always found mixed farming to be the most profitable to him, for in case of a failure of one crop or department of his calling, another is sure to bring up arrears.
December 29, 1865, our subject was married to Miss Hannah Fetter, a native of Illinois. She is
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an attractive and capable woman, who has been a constant source of comfort and inspiration to her husband. They have been the parents of seven children, of whom six are living. They are: Clara C., Edith E., Benjamin F., Jr., Minnie L., Charles 'T. and Elijah. These children have all been brought up in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which body our subject and his wife are both devoted members. In politics, Mr. Peacock is a Democrat, and, although he has never aspired to office, is enthusiastie in the advance- ment of his party interests. The family residence is a comfortable home, made attractive by the presence of a happy, contented family.
OHN A. HARWOOD unites the duties of a Justice of the Peace with his labors as a farmer, and his constituents in Dover Town- ship, La Fayette County, find entire satis- faction in the manner with which his duties are discharged. Ile lives in the town of Dover. Mr. Harwood was born near Parkersburg, W. Va., Feb- ruary 12, 1830. He is a son of Gassaway and Anna B. (Davis) Harwood, the former a native of Maryland, and the latter of Loudoun County, Va. The paternal grandfather was also born in Maryland, and was descended from Scottish ances- tors.
The boyhood days of our subject were passed in Wood County, W. Va., where he attended the sub- scription schools, and early familiarized himself with agricultural duties in the help that he gave his father on the farm. On the latter's death, lie took entire charge of the place, which he con- ducted until 1865.
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At the date above mentioned Mr. Ilarwood removed to La Fayette County, Mo., and began farming. Finding the soil to be very fertile and to respond very readily to cultivation, he fixed upon Dover Township as a permanent field of labor. Since coming here he has devoted him- self to mixed farming, and the earth has brought
forth abundantly under his cultivation. Ile has also raised hogs very extensively and finds ready market for the same near at hand.
In politics, Mr. Ilarwood follows the trend of his education and early circumstances, all of which would naturally make him a Democrat. In 1874, he was honored by appointment to the post of C'onstable of Dover Township, and served for a term of two years, since which he has been twiee re-elected. In 1881 he was appointed as Justice of the Peace, and still holds that office, having served continuously since his installation.
May 21, 1856, the original of this sketch was married to Miss Phobe E. Spencer, a daughter of Jonathan Spencer, who was a native of Virginia. Mrs. Ilarwood is herself a native of West Virginia. Three children have been welcomed to the hearts and homes of this excellent couple. They are named as follows: May, Charles L. and Spencer. Our subject and his wife are both consistent mem- bers of the Christian Church. They have a pleas- ant home in the town of Dover, and command the esteem of all who know them.
R EV. W. A. WILSON. The educational in- terests of the city of Lexington are one of its most pronounced attractions to heads of families who are looking for a good loca- tion in which to prosecute a chosen line of busi- ness, and where their children may receive the best educational advantages. Among the well-known institutions of this sort is the Baptist Female Col- lege, which has attained a high standing among its co-institutions, and a reputation for honest de- velopment that is in itself a seal of honor. This school is now presided over by the Rev. W. A. Wilson, who was born in Jackson County, Mo., August 22, 1852. He is a son of James and Eliza- beth (Farmer) Wilson, and his paternal grandsire was Andrew Wilson, a native of Ohio. His anees- tors are of English origin.
Mr. Wilson passed his boyhood in his native
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place. He attended a private school until fifteen years of age, and then prepared for college at Pleasant Hill Academy, where he spent two years. In 1872 he entered William Jewell College, where he pursued his studies for six years, gradu- ating in 1878 from the classical course. In the fall of 1878. having fitted himself for the minis- try, our subject took the pastorate of the Baptist Church of Lamar, in Barton County, this State, where he remained for two years. In the fall of 1880, he was elected to the chair of Greek and Latin in the Southwest Baptist College, at Bolivar, this State, and held the position for four years, at the same time performing the pastoral duties of the First Baptist Church of that place.
In 1884, the Rev. Mr. Wilson was elected to the Presidency of the Pieree City College, and for four years maintained his connections with that institution, during which time it advanced greatly in comparative standing, and his severance with it was attended by the regret of Trustees and patrons. Ile came to Lexington in 1888, and for three years held the position as Principal of the college. In the fall of 1891 he became President of the Baptist Female College, which position he still holds. This institution has at the present time an enroll- ment of about one hundred and thirty-five stu- dents, and the faculty numbers thirteen members. It is one of the oldest institutions of the kind in the West, having been founded in 1855.
Such branches as tend to the development of the more refined side of woman's character receive special attention at the Baptist College, and art and music are departments which rank in thor- oughness with many Eastern institutions. In 1880, President Wilson married Miss Carrie C., a daughter of Mr. Jesse Smith, of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of four children. They have but one daughter living, Grace .J.
The family residence is in the college building, and the taste which Mrs. Wilson brings to the ar- rangement of the house adds greatly to its attrac- tiveness. The school has made a steady and sub- stantial growth since its founding, and now ranks among the first in the State. President Wilson is a noble gentleman, beside being an enthusiastic educator, and is an earnest, faithful Baptist minis-
ter. Ilis cultured and genial wife is especially adapted to fill the important and responsible posi- tion of foster-mother to the many young women who are brought into more or less close relations with her. She is virtually matron of the institu- tion, and her admirable and ladylike bearing and her Christian example cannot but be of inestimable value, and will be felt in the lives of the young ladies who go out from this institution for long years to come. The grade of scholarship is of the very highest order, and the mental and moral training of the pupils is of the best kind.
EWIS W. COX. Our subject is one of the thrifty and successful farmers of La Fayette County, whose success redounds not only to the splendid condition of the country, but to his own good qualities. Mr. Cox now resides on section 28, Dover Township. lle is a native of this county, and was born in 1834. llis father, Solomon Cox, who was born in Virginia, moved to Missouri in 1817. Ilis mother was before her mar- riage Miss Deborah Collins, also a native of Vir- ginia.
Mr. Cox passed his boyhood in his native place, laying the foundation of a good education in the public schools near his home. lle was reared as a farmer's boy, with a practical knowledge of the duties incident to farm life. At the age of twenty-four he began farming on his own account, and since that time has been continuously en- gaged in general farming and stock-raising.
The tract of which our subject is the owner com- prises three hundred and twenty-five acres of as good land as there is in the vicinity of Dover. It is all under cultivation, and well improved. While the gold fever was still at its height, in 1852, Mr. Cox went to California by the overland route, and after a long and tedious trip, in which, however, he saw more of the country through which he passed than it is possible to see in the present mode of travel, he reached the Golden State, where he
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spent eighteen months in prospecting. In 1854 he retraced his steps and returned to La Fayette County. That same spring, however, he again went to California. and again remained two years, in 1856 returning to La Fayette County.
November 17, 1858, our subject was married to Miss Eliza Fletcher, a daughter of James Fletcher, a native of Virginia, and one of the early settlers in Missouri. The years that they have passed to- gether since have been filled with the content that follows happiness. They have been the parents of nine children, there being four sons and five daughters, whose names are Rovella, Nancy D., Lillie B., May, William D., Charles, Fletcher, Frank, and Pearl.
In his political views Mr. Cox gives the weight of his vote and influence to the Democratic party, and his fidelity has been demonstrated by the fact that he has been content to wait for years for their moment of triumph. In their religious preference, both our subject and his wife are de- voted members of the Christian Church, and kindly in disposition and generous with their means, they have been found to be most helpful factors in the social part of this community.
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h ENRY C. SCHWARTZ, the accommodating and efficient Postmaster at Iligginsville, was born in Warren County, Mo., near Hopewell, October 10, 1855. His father, Frederick, was born in Prussia, near Minden, and the grandfather was a wealthy farmer of Prussia, where he died. The father was a farmer in his native land, and in 1835 came to America, pro- ceeding via New Orleans and St. Louis to Warren County, Mo., where he became one of the early settlers of Smith's Creek, and improved a farm of several hundred aeres. At this place he died in 1862, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which denomination he was a faithful member. In polities he adhered to the principles
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of the Republican party. Ihis wife, Fredrecka Ilasenjaeer, was born in Prussia, and died in 1863 in Warren County, Mo. Four children yet living were born of this union, of whom our subject is the second. The others are: Charles, a farmer of Davis Township, this county; Caroline, now Mrs. Schlechte, residing near Worden, Ill .; and William, a resident of Lowell, St. Louis.
Our subject was reared to farm life, and at the age of seven or eight was apprenticed to Adolphus Wehrmann, with whom he remained until the age of sixteen years. Ile was among the first Ger- man settlers of Dover Township, this county. In 1869 he came to this place and engaged on a farm. llis educational advantages had not satis- fied him, and he continued working in this local- ity until he earned enough to pay his expenses at school. In 1875 he entered the Central Wesleyan College, at Warrenton, Mo., where he remained for two years, taking the academic course. Dur- ing the summer he taught school, and in 1877 he entered the University of Missouri at Columbia and continued there in the classical course until the spring of 1880, which brought him to the sen- ior year, and then he left the university to com- menee the study of law. This study he pursued two years, but did not continue it, as he found it was not to his taste.
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