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 92

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 92
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 92
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 92

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SAAC MASON BARKLEY is numbered among the progressive and well-to-do farm- ers of Liberty Township, Marion County. His entire life has been devoted to his present vocation in which he displays good ability. He is a man of wide education and observation, being practical and business-like in his methods and possessing the respect of his neighbors.

The parents of our subject were Levi and Elizabeth (Grimes) Barkley, who were natives of Jessamine County, and Clark County, Ky., re- spectively. The father's parents were natives of Virginia and at an early day emigrated to Ken- tucky where their children were all born and reared. Samuel Barkley, the father, was a farmer and miller in Jessamine County when he died. Levi and Elizabeth Barkley had eleven children as follows: Jane, who married James Ellis, of Marion County, had one child and is now de- ceased; Mary S., who died in girlhood; Samuel, who married Madaline Gillispie, and died July 20, 1890; Charles G., whose death occurred when he was in his fifteenth year; Levi, Jr., unmarried and living at the home of Moses B. Gash; Sidney F., who died December 16, 1872, was the wife of Joseplı L. Hatcher and to their union were born three children; Isaac M .; Philip N., who died in childhood; Maria, wife of Joseph L. Hatcher of Hannibal; Elizabeth Helen and Mary Susan, who died unmarried in early womanhood; and Martha B., wife of Willis M. Baxter of Hannibal. The mother of these children died November 22, 1852,

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and the father afterward married Mrs. Mary Bronough, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Dunn. Their union was celebrated in September, 1857, and of this marriage no children were born. Levi Barkley, Sr., who was born February 6, 1807, came to Missouri in the fall of 1829 and settled on a farm near Philadelphia, Marion County. In 1846 he purchased a tract of land near Barkley Station, on the Hannibal & St. Josephi Railroad, and some fourteen years later built a very fine residence, which is situated on an emi- nence from which a good view of the surrounding . country may be had. This home which he im- proved subsequently became the property of his son-in-law, Mr. Baxter.

Our subject was born February 19, 1848, in Miller Township, Marion County, and spent his boyhood engaged in farm work. He attended the district schools and completed his education in Van Rensselaer's Academy in Ralls County, Mo. He has always had a great liking for agri- cultural pursuits and has prospered in his various undertakings along this line. He deposits his ballot in favor of the candidates of the Demo- cratic party and always strives to do his duty as a good citizen.

February 15, 1888, Mr. Barkley married Hulda Catherine, daughter of Moses B. and Catherine Gash. Four children have come to grace their home, namely: Catherine, born November 5, 1888; L. Talmage, born August 27, 1890, and Mary Dunn, born December 29, 1892. Elizabeth, born May 13, 1895. (For a more extended his- tory of the Gash family see sketch of Moses Gash on another page.)

M ARTIN ALEXANDER. The prosper- ous and intelligent farmer whose name opens this sketch possesses one of the best-cultivated estates in Ralls County. It is one hundred and forty acres in extent and lies on Section 22, Township 54, Range 7, and is one of the most desirable and attractive sites within

the county. Mr. Alexander is a native of Ohio, having been born in Preble County, July 23. 1828.

James and Polly (Parks) Alexander, the par- ents of our subject, were born in Burke County, N. C., where they were engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1812. That year Mr. Alexander disposed of his landed interests in his native county and with his family moved to Preble County, Ohio, where he purchased a quarter section of land and lived until his decease, in 1857. The mother's death also occurred there in 1864.

The parents of our subject reared a family of nine children, namely: Patsy and Betsy, twins; Clements, Juletta, Annie, Nancy, Samuel, Wil- liam and Martin. Of these, the last-named and William are the only survivors. William mar- ried Miss Malinda Roberts and on her decease he was joined in wedlock with Miss Lavina White. They are both now living retired on the home farm in Preble County, in the vicinity of which they are well and favorably known.

The subject of this sketch remained at home until twenty-six years of age, when, October 19, 1854, he was married in his native county to Miss Margaret E., daughter of James and Peg- gie Reid. The lady was also born in the above county and is a most estimable and intelligent woman. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Alexan- der, together with his brother William, pur- chased thirty acres of land, which they later dis- posed of and invested the proceeds in other prop- erty. In the meantime our subject's parents had died and left him sixty acres, on which he moved with his wife and lived on the same until the year 1867. Having then heard of the productive lands of Missouri, which could be bought for a song, he prepared to come hither. He halted at Hanni- bal and procuring a wagon drove to Ralls County, where he had purchased a farm of one hundred and forty-five acres a few months be- fore. He lost no time in making improvements on the tract and has made it his home ever since. He was deprived of the companionship of his wife April 10, 1877, and March 10, 1882, he chose as his wife Ruth A. (Banks) Humphreys, a na-

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tive of Darke County, Ohio, and born April 22, 1835. She is the daughter of James and Lydia C. (Short) Banks, natives of Virginia, and the widow of George W. Humphreys, to whom she had been married .April 22, 1857, in Greenville, O. They afterward moved to Randolph County, Ind., where her husband was engaged in the practice of medicine and where his death took place November 4, 1864. By that union there were born three children: Lemuel C., born Jan- uary 22, 1858, is now a resident of Indiana; James B., born July 2, 1860, makes his home in Randolph County, that State, and John C. F., born December 17, 1862, died in infancy.

To Martin and Margaret E. Alexander there were born the following named six children: Luella, born June 15, 1856, married Hugh A. Barr, and is now deceased; her husband was aft- erward married and is now living near Mr. Alex- ander; Oscar Monroe was born February 3, 1858, married Miss Mollie Gibson and their home is also near the old place; Rhoda E., born June 5, 1860, died June 7, 1881; Edmund S., born May 28, 1862, married Alice Adkinson, and lives in this township; Martin L., born March 31, 1868, and Hugh A., July 3, 1875, are both at home. They were all educated in the common schools of the county and one of them has taught school in their district. The two latter named sons at- tended the Perry Institute, located at Perry, Mo.

Mr. Alexander has always been greatly inter- ested in school affairs and has served as a meni- ber of the board for many years. He is a Re- publican in politics. He holds a membership with the Christian Church at Perry, with which body his wife is also connected.

S AMUEL T. ROHR. This gentleman may truly be called self-made, as will be seen by a perusal of his history. He occupies a finely improved farm in Spencer Township, and ranks among the highly respected citizens of the county by reason of his intelligence, sterling

character and reliable citizenship. He is an en- terprising farmer, prudently changing the crops in order to keep up the fertility of the soil, and devoting the greater amount of his land to grain without neglecting other articles of produce. He raises graded stock and has his estate well sup- plied with orchards and groves.

Mr. Rohr was born in Clarke County, Iowa, July 27, 1845, and is the son of Joseph and Re- becca (Ling) Rohr. His father was a native of Germany and after coming to this country died in Missouri in 1864, aged sixty years. His father was Philip Rohr, a farmer in the Fatherland, who on making his home in America resided in Penn- sylvania. While en route across the Atlantic he was accompanied by his family, and the vessel being wrecked they suffered greatly for food and, though the grandfather had in his possession two bushels of silver, the little party many times wished the bags were filled with something to eat instead.

Joseph Rohr did not locate in Pennsylvania with the rest of the family, but made his way to Ohio, whence he later removed to Clarke County, Iowa. In 1857 we find him engaged in farming in Ralls County, this State, where his last days were spent. His estate was in Jasper Township and devoted to general farming and stock-rais- ing. He had five brothers and sisters: Philip, Elizabeth, Hannah, Catherine and Jacob, all de- ceased.

Mrs. Rebecca Rohr was a native of Pennsyl- vania and died in 1889 at the age of sixty years. She was at that time living in the Indian Ter- ritory with her son Joseph, Jr., and his wife, who still make their home in that section of country. She was a true, generous-hearted, womanly woman, and held a warm place in the affections of those about her. She was married in the Key- stone State and became the parent of nine chil- dren, namely: Jonathan, deceased; Daniel, liv- ing in parts unknown; Abraham, farmer and stock-raiser in the Indian Territory; Melinda, who . married Samuel Meyers (the latter is now deceased); Samuel T., of this sketch; Lucinda, wife of Jacob Brown, engaged in tilling a por- tion of the soil of Monroe County, Mo .; Joseph,

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Jr., living in the Indian Territory; George, an agriculturist of Ralls County; Katie and Re- becca, deceased; one died unnamed.

Samuel Rohr was married April 21, 1868, to Miss Sarah C. Seely, a native of Ralls County, who was born May 12, 1852, to Abraham and Angeline (Rench) Seely. Her father was a native of St. Louis County, this State, and passed away in 1883, aged seventy-seven years. He was one of the earliest settlers of Jasper Township, that county, and aided greatly in laying out the roads. A noted hunter and an expert shot, during the early days he killed many deer, bear and other wild animals which roamed at will over the coun- try. He was an extensive farmer and stock-raiser and prospered greatly in his undertaking as a tiller of the soil.

The mother of Mrs. Rohr was born in Little Rock, Ark., where she died in 1865, aged fifty- one years. She married Abraham Seely in St. Louis County, Mo., and became the mother of these children: Jane, widow of Milton Wasson, now makes her home in Jasper Township, Ralls County ; Leaffie, widow of Harris Wasson, is also a resident of that section; Brinker, farming in that county; Malinda, widow of George Turner, makes her home in Kansas; William, farming in lowa; Eliza and Angeline, deceased, the latter having been the wife of M. F. Yowl, of Hanni- bal; Rossie, married to Dave Osborn, an agri- culturist of Frankford, this State; Tabitha, wife of James Turner, a prominent farmer of Jasper Township, Ralls County; Dallas C., farming in lowa; Melvina, married to James Rule, a resi- dent of Ralls County; Sarah C. (Mrs. Rohr); Genevieve (Mrs. Riley Enlow), of Ralls County; Susan, youngest of the family, married to Wil- liam Cons, engaged in farm pursuits in Putnam County, Mo.

The three sons and three daughters born to our subject and wife are: George T., now deceased; Wyman, a farmer of Spencer Township; Silas, managing the old homestead; Salona and Leona, twins, and Mabel. The husband and father re- mained on his father's farm in Ralls County until a year after attaining his majority, when he began for himself on fifty acres which he ob-

tained on time. This he cleared and remained upon for about fifteen years, when he came to his present place, embracing six hundred and forty acres of productive land. This fine property is a standing monument to the energy which he has put forth in the labors of life and the good judgment which has characterized his efforts, while his high standing among his fellow-men is an equally good proof of his worth as a neighbor and citizen. He acquired his education in the old-time district school.

Mr. Rohr is director of the bank in New Lon- don, Ralls County, and being a man of much prac- tical business talent and financial ability has be- come one of the wealthy residents of Pike County. He is a member of the Baptist Church and in pol- itics votes for Republican candidates.

W ILLIAM P. BEACH sustains the repu- tation of being one of the best literary men of Macon. He stands high as an essayist, and as a speaker is earnest and impres- sive. Geology is a specialty with him, and in his office and home may be found well arranged col- lections of geological specimens. He is quite fa- miliar with the strata of his own particular section and closely scrutinizes the soils, rocks, fossils, fauna and flora of the localities he visits in his occasional summer tours. To him, like Byron,

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea-and music in its roar.

Mr. Beach was born in Newark, N. J., April 19, 1840, to William P. and Ann Eliza (Couplin) Beach, also natives of that State. The first of the name of whom our subject has any record in this country was Thomas Beach, who took the oath of fidelity to the Government (1654) at New Haven, Conn. He married Sarah, daughter of Deacon Richard Platt, of Milford, Conn. To them were born several children, among whom was

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Zopher, whose birth occurred May 27, 1662. Richard Beach, the brother of Thomas, was a signer of the first compact in New Haven, in 1639, hence it is seen that this family were among the early settlers of America.

Zopher Beach, together with other colonists, went to Newark, N. J., in 1685. He was called a "well-beloved brother" by his associates and the date of his demise was in 1709. His wife's name was Martha, and among the sons born to them was one Epenetus, who died June 14, 1750, aged fifty-nine years, leaving a will which named eleven children, among whom was Joseph. The latter married Eunice Baldwin, whose family was prominent in the early day, and together they lived at Mendham, N. J. He died February 17, 1765, aged forty-five years. Among his sons and daughters was Elias, who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, in which conflict his brother Nathaniel also fought as Colonel of his regiment. Elias was born in 1759 and on attain- ing mature years was married to Joanna Camp. To them were born seven children, including Ephraim, a carpenter by trade, who becoming crippled, was for many years chorister and sex- ton of the First Presbyterian Church, Newark, N. J. He married Mary, daughter of William Pierson. He was born about 1781 and departed this life on August 13, 1837. To them were born six children and by a second marriage two, Henry and Mary. The six bore the respective names of William P., Lewis, Harriet (married Samuel Moore), Louisa (married Frank Ward), Caroline (married Horace B. Gardner), and Emma (married Nathaniel L. Douglass).

William P. Beach, Sr., the father of our sub- ject, was born about 1808, and died December 12, 1841, at Houston, Texas. In his youth he went to sea, but after his marriage with Miss Couplin made his permanent residence on terra firma. He was a dignified, cultivated, intellectual gentleman, a useful member of society and an ac- tive worker in the Methodist Church.

He went to Texas, then a young republic, in 1839, with the hope of improving his fortune; but when about to remove his family there, two years later, he contracted a fever and died. His

funeral services were held in the Senate cham- ber of the old capitol, and his remains rest in "some nameless grave" in the old cemetery at Houston. His frequent wish had been that he might be able to educate his children, and his widow, with meager means, endeavored faithfully to discharge this duty; her brothers and sisters heartily co-operated with her. She survived her husband eleven years and died with consumption, August 30, 1852. Of their three children, Helen Winfield died, unmarried, of consumption, Sep- tember 18, 1885: Ephraim is mining at Breck- enridge, Colo., and William P., the youngest, since 1866 has been a useful and prominent citi- zen of Macon, Mo.

"Billy," as he was designated in boyhood, was reared by his widowed mother, but, being de- prived of her care when twelve years old, there- after lived with his maternal grandparents until their deaths, which occurred about 1853. He was thus left to shift for himself until his uncle, Gil- bert A. Couplin, sent him for a term to boarding- school, an obligation which he afterward repaid.

At fourteen he taught a three months' school and clerked in a store a few months, gathering experience and the discipline of life; then he trav- eled over the country selling books. He had heard and read of the great West and his youth- ful inclination prompted him to go there; he had scarcely any money, but he had demonstrated that he could work his way through the country selling books, stationery, etc., and so, on foot, with an old box valise containing about five dol- lars' worth of stock in trade, which was occasion- ally replenished at some book store, he tramped out to Warren County, Ohio, a distance of six hundred miles, in the winter of 1854-5. He was a bright, genial youth and always found friends in abundance, among whom was noble Ben Fur- row, of Piqua, Ohio, who established him in a summer school.

Next spring he drifted farther westward and some inscrutable counter current held him in Missouri, where he afterward permanently set- tled. He taught school in Andrew, Holt and Boone Counties, and attended the State Univers- ity for one year. Then he studied law and was

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admitted to the bar at Columbia, Mo., in 1866, immediately removing to Macon, where he has since resided.

His practice is largely commercial. His pro- fessional watchwords are integrity, reliability, promptness, politeness and persistence; and their practical application has developed a successful business. He has been City Attorney of Macon for two terms; and has been active in promoting honest politics in his county and State, but is too independent and uncompromising for party pro- motion. In politics he is an independent Repub- lican. Mr. Beach was married November 13, 1871, to Miss Nellie L. Barnard, of Adrian, Mich., an estimable lady abounding in good works.

J AMES A. ESTES, President and Superin- tendent of the Diamond Flour Manufactur- ing Company, of Louisiana, Mo., was born in Louisville, Lincoln County, Mo., March IO, 1839, and is a son of Richard Estes, a native of Kentucky, born in 1809. His grandfather, Abra- ham Estes, was also a native of Kentucky. Riclı- ard Estes, the father, learned the trade of spinner at Lexington, Ky., which he followed for some years. In 1834 he emigrated to Missouri and set- tled in Lincoln County, where he lived and died; he was generally engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. In politics he was a Jeffersonian Democrat and in matters of religion he was a member of the Christian Church. He was mar- ried in Kentucky to Sarah Martin, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of Enoch Martin, also a native of that State. On the Martin side the family were of Irish ancestry and on the paternal side they were of German ancestry. Richard and Sarah Estes were the parents of the following children: Samuel Enoch, living in Louisville, Mo .; Mary V., wife of Samuel Hinton, of Kansas; Deborah, wife of D. G. Hinton, of Annada, Mo .; James A., our subject; Sarah E., widow of Nich- olas Flaner; Richard, killed in the late war in Col. Smart's Regiment at the battle of Pilot Knob .

Joseph S., in South Dakota, an Indian Agent ap- pointed by President Harrison; Lydia, wife of John Morris, of Louisville, Mo .; Edgar Poe, who died at the age of nine years. Mrs. Estes, the mother of these children, is now living at Louis- ville, Mo., in her eighty-fifth year. She is, as well as all the family but the subject of this sketch, a member of the Christian Church.

Our subject grew to manhood in Louisville, Mo., and received his education in the common schools. He worked with his father in the woolen factory until 1857, and in the spring of 1859 he got the Pike's Peak fever and started with a party for that new El Dorado. He returned home the same season and engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods and in operating a grist mill at Walkersville, Shelby County, Mo. He remained there until 1868 and then went to Shelbina, Mo., and erected a flouring mill with a daily capacity of one hundred and twenty-five barrels. He oper- ated this mill until 1875 and then went to Macon City; there he was in the milling business until the spring of 1880, when he removed to Louisi- ana, Mo., and in partnership with P. Moore pur- chased the old Rule Mill, which he operated until 1887, when the mill burned. He then formed a corporation under the name of the Diamond Flour Manufacturing Company, with W. G. Tins- ley, W. N. Tinsley, W. O. Gray, W. A. Jordon and Dr. W. C. Hardin, having a capital stock of twenty-one thousand dollars. Mr. Jordon was President and our subject Vice-President and General Manager. After Mr. Jordon retired W. O. Gray became President, and when Mr. Gray retired, in 1893, Mr. Estes became · President, which position he now holds. He has been Gen- eral Manager since the mill started. The special brands of the mill are the Diamond High Patent, Diamond A and Diamond O. A market is found for all of their productions in the North and West, as well as at home. Their wheat is obtained gen- erally from local farmers, and they manufacture the best brands of flour in this section of the country.

In November, 1864, Mr. Estes was united in marriage to Mary C. Riggs, daughter of Dr. James and Matilda (Vandever) Riggs. She is a

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native of Shelby County, Mo .; her father is a na- tive of Pennsylvania and her mother of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Estes are the parents of these chil- dren: Virginia, who married W. W. Park, of Louisiana, Mo .; Louis Edgar, an attorney at Clarksville, Mo., who married Lou Knox, daugh- ter of Dr. Knox, of Memphis, Tenn .; Josie; Ches- ter W., at home.

Mrs. Estes is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church South, as is also Mr. Estes. In politics he is a Jeffersonian Democrat. He was elected a member of the Council in 1892 and served two years. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. and was sent by the lodge as a delegate to the Grand Lodge, which met in St. Louis in 1890. Mr. Estes is a public-spirited citizen and has been largely identified with the growth and develop- ment of Louisiana. He is active in business and is always ready to give a helping hand to the poor and is among the most esteemed citizens of his adopted city.

C AL. S. O'DONNELL, the subject of this memoir, first saw the light of day on No- vember 2, 1868, the place of his birth be- ing Hannibal, Mo. He is a son of John and Ellen (McCarty) O'Donnell, who are natives of Ireland.

John O'Donnell quitted the land of his nativ- ity after reaching manhood, and boarded a vessel bound for the United States, landing in New York City. From there he went direct to Chi- cago and secured employment with the I. C. R. R. Co., assisting in laying its track in Chicago; he was also married in the World's Fair City. Aft- er the foregoing event his next important move was a departure for Hannibal and in that Mis- souri city he located and worked in the H. & St. J. R. R. shops for twenty-one years.

Our subject's father at this period in his life decided to change his vocation, so, thinking that of farming to be independent and profitable, he moved out to a farm nine miles west of the city-west of Herdsburg-and engaged in till-

ing the soil. He remained on this land for sev- eral years and then moved to the B. O. Woods farm, this county, on which he lived for a year as a renter. At the expiration of tlie twelvemonth he moved to a part of the farm which our sub- ject, his son, now operates; this was twenty-two years ago-in 1873. In that year the farm com- prised only eighty acres, which he bought and on which he made all the improvements. After- ward he bought another eighty acres, which makes an entire quarter section that he now owns.

April 18, 1895, he and his wife removed to Kansas City, Mo., and are now living retired in the metropolis at the mouth of the Kaw, having well earned a comfortable rest for their old age. The union of John and Ellen O'Donnell was blessed with twelve sons and daughters, tlie names of whom are as follows: James; Robert; Frank, deceased; Cal., our subject; William; John, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Maggie; four whose names are not given died when young.

Cal. S. O'Donnell received his early educa- tion in the common schools of this county, after which-in 1886-he entered the Queen City Business College, Hastings, Neb. Three years later, or some time after he had passed his twen- ty-first birthday, he started out in life for him- self, fairly equipped for the battle to gain a place among his successful fellows. Yet he began at the foot of the ladder by entering the employ of a lumber firm in Hastings, in whose yard lie worked for three years. He then visited his par- ents, after which he returned to Nebraska and located temporarily in the Town of McCook. There le secured work as brakeman on the B. & M. R. R., which position he retained for six- teen months, when he discontinued his life as a railroader by going to the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago.

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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 92

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