Portrait and biographical record of Marion, Ralls and Pike counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties; together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the Unted States, Part 55

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, C. O. Owen & Co.
Number of Pages: 820

USA > Missouri > Marion County > Portrait and biographical record of Marion, Ralls and Pike counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties; together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the Unted States > Part 55
USA > Missouri > Pike County > Portrait and biographical record of Marion, Ralls and Pike counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties; together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the Unted States > Part 55
USA > Missouri > Ralls County > Portrait and biographical record of Marion, Ralls and Pike counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties; together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the Unted States > Part 55

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Mr. Megown was married at New London Oc- tober 1, 1888, to Miss Laura, daughter of John D. and Jennie A. (Rector) James, natives of Pike County. Both are now deceased. Mr. James was a farmer and departed this life in 1887, while his wife survived him until 1892. She was the daugh- ter of Jesse H. Rector, of Pike County, who is now living at Elk Springs.

To our subject and his wife there have been born two children, May and Vivia. Mrs. Megown is a member of the Christian Church. In politics her husband is a Democrat, and socially is a Mason of high standing, belonging to New Lon- don Lodge No. 307, also to New London Lodge

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

No. 69, I. O. O. F. He is a popular and efficient bank official, and under his judicious manage- ment there is no danger of the Bank of Ralls County having any financial embarrassments. Like his father, he stands high in the confidence and esteem of the people.

W ILLIAM N. SCOTT. To such men as this gentleman is due the advancement and prosperity of Pike County. He is numbered among its successful and progressive farmers, being the proprietor of a valuable tract of land situated in Township 54, Range I. He began his career empty-handed and has gradually worked his way upward by putting in action his native characteristics of energy and strict atten- tion to his business affairs. His home is beauti- fully located and his family are surrounded with every requirement of refined and cultured life.

Andrew Jackson Scott, father of our subject, was born in North Carolina December 8, 1818, being one of fourteen children, five of whom sur- vive. His father, Robert, was born in 1784 and moved to Tennessee when Andrew was a lad of ten years. A year later he went to Indiana with his family, where he resided for five years, and finally going to Macoupin County, Ill., there passed his declining days. His wife was a Miss Margaret Proffit, of North Carolina. A. J. Scott concluded to try his fortune in Missouri on arriv- ing at man's estate, and for fifty-four years has been one of this county's honored citizens. He first settled three and a half miles south of his present farm, which he purchased seven or eight years afterwards. He erected a comfortable farm house in 1866 on a high bluff overlooking a fertile valley. April 1, 1841, he married Anna Temple-

ton, whose parents, James and Jane (Mackey) Templeton, were natives of South and North Carolina, respectively. The father was one of the early pioneers of this locality, having come here in 1811, and at first lived in the historic fort. Mr. Scott has always given his allegiance to the Democratic party.

William N. Scott is one of eight children, all of whom lived to mature years: Robert N. resides in Louisiana, Mo .; Mary C. is the wife of Philip An- drews, by whom she has one child; Rebecca A. married Benjamin McCloud, and has one child; Edward M. has a wife and two children, and Alice N., who married O. J. Carroll, is the mother of two children.

The birth of W. N. Scott occurred in this county February 16, 1851 ; and his education was such as wa's afforded by the neighboring schools. He was reared to farm life, receiving practical in- struction both in example and precept, and when he left home commenced to earn a livelihood by working on farms. At the end of seven years he fell heir to a portion of his present farm, and from that time onward his success was assured. He now owns two hundred and two acres of as fine and fertile land as can be found in the county.

December 12, 1872, occurred the marriage of Mr. Scott and Edna Wilcoxen. She is the daugh- ter of Benjamin and Sarah (Mackey) Wilcoxen, who were honored and representative citizens of the community in which their home was made. The following children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Scott: Nora May, Edward B., Ollie L., Hat- tie B., Sallie A., Benjamin A., William L. and Edna D. They have all been given excellent edu- cational advantages and bid fair to grace any so- ciety which they are called upon to adorn. The older members of the family belong to the Cum- berland Presbyterian denomination. Mr. Scott uses his right of franchise in support of the Re- publican party.

S. M. CARTER.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

443

SPENCER M. CARTER.

S PENCER M. CARTER, senior partner in the Eagle Mills Company, of Hannibal, is one of the old and prominent citizens of this place, and is favorably known throughout this section. He was elected Alderman in 1874 and served acceptably as such for two years, hav- ing been elected on the Citizens ticket. He is financially concerned in a number of local indus- tries; is Vice-President of the Bank of Hannibal, having served in that capacity from the time of its organization, and is President of the Star Line Company, of whch J. E. Priest is Manager and S. R. Carter Secretary.

Mr. Carter was born in Paris, Bourbon County, Ky., December 31, 1826, and is a son of Thomas Carter, whose birth occurred in the same county in March, 1802, and who died in Quincy, Ill., in 1877. His father, Thomas Carter, Sr., was a na- tive of Ireland, and came to America in Colonial days, participating in the War for Independence. Afterwards he settled in Kentucky, where he owned a valuable plantation. His seven children were named as follows: Jesse, William, Merrill, Thomas, Sallie, Margaret and Catherine. Our subject's father removed to Quincy, Ill., in 1833 and established the first watermill in that place, north of the village some two miles. In 1842 he became foreman of the Eagle Mills in Quincy and managed them for about twenty-seven years, or up to the time of his death. These mills were destroyed by fire in 1884. The wife of Thomas Carter was Miss Sarah Robbins, a native of Ken- tucky. Their oldest child, John, died when young. Mrs. Carter was called to the home beyond when the subject of this sketch was an in- fant of but six months. Subsequently the father married Elizabeth Calloway, who was also from Kentucky. She departed this life in 1876, leav- ing a family of ten children: Jane, who married

Henry Deal; Henry, deceased; Catherine, wlio became the wife of Edward Perkins; Lucy, now Mrs. Charles Slack; Mary; Sarah, the wife of H. S. Osborne; Ann, who was married to George Smith; Juliet, the wife of William Simpson; Ada, who was married to Edward Dickhute, and John I. Thomas Carter and both of his wives were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically he was a Whig, and afterwards espoused the cause of the Republican party.

The boyhood of Spencer M. Carter was passed in Kentucky and in Quincy, Ill., his education be- ing secured in the schools of the last-named place. He remembers that on his arrival in Quincy the village comprised but five log houses. After learning the milling business with his father he took charge of the levee mill owned by D. J. Whitney, then being but eighteen years of age. He was next employed to run the Eagle Mills, the proprietors of which were Wheeler & Os- borne, and two years later, having established himself as a first class miller, he was given the management of the Star Mills, which he con- ducted for seven years. In 1856 he came to Han- nibal, and in company with Warren Stewart bought the old Stillwell Mill, which they refitted, and ran for seven years. The mill was situated on the river at the foot of Church Street. In 1862 Mr. Carter sold out to George E. Huitt and built the Eagle Mills, being assisted in so doing by Jackson Brice. The latter sold out his interest on the termination of two years to Richard Prin- dle, the firm becoming Carter, Prindle & Com- pany. The silent member of the firm was J. B. Brady, who was connected with the same about two years, when he sold his interest to Mr. Car- ter in 1879. Mr. Prindle was with him for seven- teen years and then disposed of his share to J. B. Sheperd, since which time the style has been

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Carter & Sheperd. The Eagle Mills have twenty- eight sets of rolls, which were put in at a cost of sixteen thousand dollars in 1882. The mills have a capacity of five hundred barrels per twenty-four hours, and several brands, among which are the Eagle and High Patent flours, are manufactured and have a wide reputation. The markets for these goods are in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and various points of the West, and shipments are made to Europe.

Mr. Carter was united in marriage at Quincy, Ill., August 15, 1847, to Sarah Hosman, a native of Kentucky. To this union were born four chil- dren, three sons and one daughter. The former are all connected with their father in the milling business. Their names are: Spencer R., who is the shipping clerk; John I. is the weigher; George H. is the bookkeeper; Ida, the daughter, became the wife of J. E. Priest and is now deceased.

George H. Carter was elected Mayor of Han- nibal in the spring of 1895, and is making a popu- lar officer. Mrs. Carter departed this life in 1880, mourned by all who knew her. Mr. Carter mar- ried for his second wife Miss Anna Frost, Sep- tember 15, 1889. She is the daughter of William and Sarah (Woodruff) Frost, natives of Lebanon, Ohio. Mr. Carter is a prominent member of the Baptist Church, and has contributed largely of his means toward its advancement. He is always foremost in worthy enterprises that have for their object the growth and development of Hanni- bal, and is ever ready, not only with his sympathy, but his purse, to aid in the cause of charity and all benevolent work. He is a great favorite with the people, is held in the highest esteem and has the confidence of all who know him.

J I AMES STERLING has lived for the last twelve years in Miller Township, Marion County, where he owns a fertile tract of land comprising two hundred and forty acres. In addition to raising the usual variety of crops com- mon to this region, he buys and sells horses and mules extensively,

Joseph Sterling, the father of our subject, was born in County Derry, Ireland, November 12, 1818, and was left an orphan when quite young. In 1834 he emigrated to America in the "Wilkie Hull," being five weeks on the voyage. Landing in Philadelphia he proceeded to Lancaster County, Pa., where he worked for a farmer for about two years. Then he went to Carbon County, Pa., where he worked in a coal mine for eight years. In February, 1841, he married Maria J. Shearer, likewise a native of Ireland. By a strange coinci- dence, she had been born and reared on a farm only two miles distant from his old home, but he had never seen her before coming to America. I11 1850 le settled in the vicinity of Quincy, Ill., where he rented land for ten years and then had sufficient capital to purchase eighty acres of land near Fow- ler. This place he conducted for eight years and then selling out moved to Marion County in 1872. For the next decade he managed the old Dunlap Farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres, a mile south of Palmyra, and after disposing of this prop- erty in 1882 invested the proceeds in the Sours Farm of two hundred and forty acres, where he is still living. His good wife was called to her final rest March 22, 1894, at her home. Mr. Sterling is the Oldest member of the Presbyterian Church in this county. Politically he was a Whig prior to the organization of the Republican party, with which he is now connected.

James Sterling is one of nine children, being fifth in order of birth. The others are: Elizabeth, unmarried and residing at home; Maggie (de- ceased), who was the wife of Thomas Herron; Anna (Mrs. George Hedrick), of York County, Pa .; Emma, who married David Dunn, who is employed by the M., K. & T. R. R., Hannibal, Mo .; Maria J., wife of P. A. Bush of Ralls County, Mo .; the three eldest children died in their early years. Jantes Sterling was born September 9, 1849, in Greenville, Pa., and was reared on a farm. He received the benefit of a common-school edit- cation and accompanied liis parents on their re- moval from place to place. Since attaining man's estate he has taken charge of his father's home- stead, which he conducts in an able manner.

October II, 1888, Mr. Sterling married Mag- gie Welch, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

(Harris) Welch, natives of Ireland and Knox County, Mo., respectively. Mrs. Sterling is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church and by her marriage has become the mother of one child, a bright boy, born July 26, 1891, and who bears the Christian name of James. Mr. Sterling uses his ballot in behalf of the nominees and principles of the Republican party.

G EORGE W. SCHNIZLEIN, one of the enterprising business men of Miller Township, Marion County, was born April 15, 1863, in Hannibal and has traveled and gained wide experience for a young man of his years. He succeeded his father in business in 1893, prior to which time he had learned every detail of the trade.

Our subject's parents were John L. and Barbara (Kilian) Schnizlein, the former of whom was born February 22, 1829, in Windsheim, Bavaria. There is in possession of the family a record which traces the genealogy back to 1748, and which is very in- teresting to those concerned. For several gen- erations they have engaged in the manufacture of soap and have prospered in a business way. J. L. Schnizlein learned the business of his father, and after serving five years' apprenticeship worked as a journeyman in various places. In 1885, when on a visit to the Fatherland, he procured his old passport book with the stamps of the officials of one hundred and seventy-one cities which he vis- ited in his wanderings when a young man. June 20, 1852, he crossed the ocean and for a time worked at his trade in Baltimore; afterward he proceeded to New Orleans, La., where he made sugar hogsheads in a coopering establishment, and then went to Mississippi, where he was em- ployed in a sawmill. In 1854 he went to Cincin- nati, where for a year he worked in a soap factory, and then for a like period was employed in a fac- tory in Fort Wayne, Ind. In 1860 he settled in Hannibal, coming from St. Louis, where he had been engaged in a soap and vinegar factory for a few months, and in the spring of 1861 opened a

plant of his own. This factory burned down in 1863, the contents also being destroyed, and in 1875 the proprietor met with another loss of over two thousand dollars by the same destructive ele- ment. He bravely started again and continued successful in business until 1887, when everything was again destroyed by fire; in 1890 the new con- cern which he had started was badly damaged by a tornado. In 1869 he built the brick residence in which his widow is now living. Before leaving Germany he was a member of the Lutheran Church and sang in the choir. During the Civil War in the United States he served for three months in the Home Guards, was a Democrat po- litically and for seven years prior to his demise was a member of the Triple Alliance. In 1885 he returned to Germany and in the following Sep- tember came back to America on the ill-fated "Elbe." He was called to his final rest June 9, 1893.

The wife of J. Schnizlein was born at Winds- heim, January 6, 1841, and was brought by her parents to America when four years of age. The journey was made by way of New Orleans, where they arrived at the end of a forty-one days' voy- age. Taking passage in a vessel up the Missis- sippi, they reached a point between Memphis and Carroll, where the boat struck a snag and sank; there were seven hundred passengers on board, the majority of whom managed to escape death; Mr. Kilian was a wealthy man and lost a large sum in gold and silver coins. He landed on the Illinois side of the river, seven miles from Cairo, and took up his residence in the woods, where he remained four weeks. He had been acquainted with the Schnizlein family in Germany and after a short time the old acquaintanceship was renewed. In the fall of 1860 our subject's parents were mar- ried at Hannibal, Mo., by the Rev. Forman, and became the parents of five children, namely: George W., John A., Anna, Lizzie (now employed in a dry goods store) and one who died in infancy.

Until he was thirteen years of age our subject attended school in Hannibal and afterward was a student in the night schools for one term. He stayed with his father, assisting in the business until 1886, when he went to California. For about two months he remained in San Francisco,

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

then went to Stockton, Sacramento, Oakland and a number of other prominent places. At the end of a year he returned home and once more en- gaged in his former occupation, ultimately ac- quiring an interest in the business and finally as- suming the management. At present he does not manufacture soap to any extent, but finds a ready sale for the Eagle Brand of Fertilizer, which is made in his factory.

October 16, 1890, Mr. Schnizlein married Miss Mary E., daughter of F. D. and Kate (Dresher) Vallbracht. The young couple have one son, a bright little boy named Royal. According to a family custom he is the owner of a twenty-mark coin having the date of 1763, which was given to our subject's grandfather at his christening by his sponsor with the provision that it was to re- main in the family, descending to the eldest son. Our subject resides in a comfortable home not far from his mother's abode, where she is living with her two daughters.

W ILLIAM B. FAHY has met with more than ordinary success as a farmer and blacksmith, and is now enabled to re- tire practically from business. His home is lo- cated in Saline Township, Ralls County, on which he has lived since 1866. It is well improved, con- tains first-class buildings, farm machinery, etc .. and is a source of a good income to its owner.

Our subject is a native of Ireland, having been born in County Cork, April 12, 1833. His parents were Berry and Nony (Mahoney) Fahy, also na- tives of the Emerald Isle, where the father died in 1841, when forty years of age. His wife sur- vived him until 1887, when she passed away at the age of seventy-five years. Berry Fahy was a well-to-do farmer of Ireland, and the possessor of a handsome property, which he managed with profit. By his union with Miss Mahoney there were born six children, four sons and two daugh- ters, as follows: Roger, farming on the old place in Ireland; John and Berry, Jr., deceased; Will- iam B., of this history; Mary married William

Connors, and both are deceased, and Jane is no: Mrs. John Meade, and still lives in Ireland.

The original of this sketch lived with his par- ents until a young man of twenty-one years, in the meantime having learned the blacksmith's trade, serving a three years' apprenticeship. In 1854 he made preparations to emigrate to America, and when boarding a vessel was twenty-eight days in the trip across the Atlantic. He was landed in New York City and there remained, working at his trade, for the four years following. At the end of that time, desirous of seeing something of the western country, of which he had heard so often, he came to Missouri and located in Sidney, this county, where he built a shop and plied his trade until 1866. That year he located on his present estate and has made it his home ever since. It contained no improvements whatever, and he made it his first duty to build a log cabin in which his family might be made as comfortable as possible. In 1883 this rude structure was re- placed by a commodious and substantial dwelling. Mr. Fahy has never been out of the county more than two days at a time since coming hither. He is classed among the successful farmers of the township and loses no opportunity for improving his estate and contributing to the general welfare of the community who hold him in such high esteem.

The lady to whom our subject was married in Hannibal, Mo., in 1860, was Miss Mary Eliza Hazel, who was also born in Ireland, the date thereof being March, 1835. Her parents were William and Margaretta (McCarty) Hazel, na- tives respectively of County Cork and County Limerick. The father died at the age of fifty-five in 1883, and the mother when in her thirtieth year, in 1845. To them were born four children, of whom Mary E. was the eldest; Michael is a slater and plasterer of Ireland; Ann is the widow of Berry Fahy, of Omaha, Neb., and Edward is cashier and book-keeper in England. The father of Mrs. Fahy was a slater and plasterer by trade, and also dealt extensively in real estate in Ire- land. He was well known and prominent, and his death was deeply mourned by those who knew him.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

To Mr. and Mrs. Fahy there have been born two sons and four daughters, as follows: John R., following the combined occupations of farmer and blacksmith, is a resident of Sidney; Mary, Ann and Kitty are deceased; Hannorah is the wife of Preston Hancock, an agriculturist of this town- ship, and William B. is at home with his parents.

Mr. Fahy is a devout Catholic in religion, and politically is a Democrat, and one of the most intelligent supporters of the party in this vicinity. He has interested himself in every good work in the township, and the eighty acres of land which he owns is one of the best farms in point of improvement in Ralls County.

W ILLIAM H. GRAVES is a retired farmer and stock-raiser, whose home is on a beautifully improved farm on Section 24, Township 56, Range 6, Ralls County. From his boyhood he has been closely associated with the development of this region and knows from experience what are the privations and trials of frontier life. He has been the architect of his own fortunes, and by continued zeal and in- dustry managed to hew out a fortune. In 1846 he built a log cabin, in which he resided twenty two years, and in 1868 erected a substantial stone house, which has since sheltered him and his family.

Our subject is a son of Henry B. and Nancy (Graves) Graves, who were cousins. The former was born in Kentucky in July, 1790, and died April 3, 1871, while his wife, a native of Bourbon County, Ky., born July 23, 1793, died December · 3, 1867. They were married in Bourbon County, where they continued to dwell until 1822, thence going to Campbell County, and finally becoming residents of Clay Township, this county. Here they passed the remainder of their lives in peace and security. The father was a successful agri- culturist and was the owner of a number of slaves. Politically he affiliated with the Democratic party. Both he and his wife were Baptists in their re-

ligious belief. Their family comprises eight chil- dren, of whom the three eldest died in infancy. Bartlett is a farmer of Monroe County, and Mil- ton S. operates a homestead in this township. Sarah A. is the wife of George Crigbaum, a resi- dent of this locality; and Emma, deceased, was the wife of John Barkley, a farmer of Ralls County.

W. H. Graves was born October 16, 1822, in Campbell County, Ky., and there passed the first few years of his life, but for nearly fifty-five years has lived in this county. He remained at home until reaching his majority and then came to his present farm, where, with the exception of two years, he has been engaged in its improvement and cultivation. In 1850 and 1851 he was absent in California, renting his farm in the meantime, and his wife living with her parents. He was fairly successful in the West, and was variously employed in mining, teaming, running a board- ing house, etc. His farm comprises one hundred and twenty-nine acres of improved and arable land, well adapted for raising general crops, and for pasturage.

In January, 1845, Mr. Graves married Nancy A., daughter of Adam and Polly (Rouse) Otter- back, natives of Kentucky and Virginia respect- ively. They were married in the latter State, and in 1818 became pioneers of Saline Township, Ralls County. The father died October 20, 1873, at the age of four score years, and the wife, who died in 1870, was then in her seventy-eighth year. They were members of the Baptist Church, Mr. Otterback holding the office of Deacon. Their family were: Henry, a farmer of this county; Bennett, Sallie and Melinda, deceased; Nancy A .; Jefferson, now in California; George, a merchant of Vandalia, Mo .; Eliza A., widow of George Swan, of Kansas City; William, a farmer of this locality, and Emma is deceased. Mrs. Graves was born in Boone County, Ky., April 2, 1825, and by her marriage has become mother of the following children, namely: William, deceased; Henry A., a stock dealer of Monroe City; Laura, wife of Frank Ogle, of Texas ; Jefferson, who died in the Lone Star State; John, an Illinois farmer and stock trader; Nanny, wife of Thomas Kelso,

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

who is engaged in the transfer business in Mex- ico, Mo .; Mollie, wife of Thornton Maddox, pro- prietor of an hotel at Monroe City; Tipton, a farmer in Marion County; Betty, deceased, and Minnie M., wife of Henry Moritz, a farmer of this township. Mr. and Mrs. Graves and several of their children are members of the Baptist Church, in which our subject has served for fifteen years as a Deacon. In his political faith he is a Demo- crat.

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Portrait and biographical record of Marion, Ralls and Pike counties, Missouri, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties; together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the Unted States, Part 55

Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago, C. O. Owen & Co. Number of Pages: 820

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, C. O. Owen & Co.
Number of Pages: 820