USA > Missouri > Clinton County > The History of Clinton County, Missouri : containing a history of the County, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens, Clinton County in the late war, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men etc > Part 54
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
COL. JAMES H. BIRCH.
Among the men of prominence who have long been identified with the interests and history of this county, is Col. James H. Birch, the oldest living son and child of the late Judge James H. Birch. He was born in Fayette, Howard County, Missouri, November 14, 1831, and came with his father to his county in October, 1841. Col. Birch was educated in the log school house of that early period. He, with his elder brother, Charles, joined the volunteer forces and followed the flag to Mexico, and were attached to the Santa Fe battalion under Major Walker. When discharged he was yet under seventeen years of age, but wore the stripes of a corporal, given him by his commander for gallant service on the battlefield, his last service in that war being a member of the body guard of the late General Sterling Price. Upon his return home he studied law under the guidance of his father, then on the Supreme Bench of the State, and entered upon the practice of the law in his native town before he was of age. Afterwards he graduated at the Law Department of the Cumberland University, in Tennessee. At the breaking out of the war of the states, Col. Birch, and his father, were decided Union men. He accepted the appointment of aid-de-camp from Governor Gamble, with the rank of colonel, which position he filled until near the close of the war, when he was arrested and paroled by the Confederate forces, whereupon he tendered his resignation. In politics he was an ardent Democrat, and in 1868, was elected a senator from the Third District, composed of the counties of Clay, Platte and Clinton, it being the first civil office he ever held. As a senator he faithfully discharged its duties. He was the author of the law abolishing the office of public printer, and submitting the work to competition, thereby saving many thousands per year to the taxpayers. To his energy and persistence do the people of Northwest Missouri owe the Insane Asylum at St. Joseph. Beaten three times in as many winters, he introduced the bill the fourth winter and successfully passed it, it being the first dollar of money ever appropriated for this section of the state. He was the author of the law abolishing the office of circuit attorney, and establishing the office of prosecuting attorney, as a court office. He wrote the law settling the controversy between the state and public school fund, on account of the sale of the stock in the old Bank of Missouri, whereby nine hundred thousand dollars were added to the public school fund, thereby proving his feelings in the educational interests of the state. Many other laws bear the impress of his positive character. After leaving the Senate, his friends sought to send him to Congress, and were only prevented by those tricks in convention, which have brought the convention system into great disrespect. In 1875, his health was so impaired that he sought the air of the Pacific shores, and returned in 1878, greatly improved. He
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CONCORD TOWNSHIP.
lives in one of the most beautiful groves in Northwest Missouri, which he improved in 1859, about a half mile south of Plattsburg. He has been married twice. By his last wife he has raised a family of nine children, all of whom are living. The colonel is in the prime of life, vigorous in mind and body, and bids fair to live many years.
WM. LEONARD BIRNEY, M. D.,
was born in Missouri, seven miles south of Lexington, on the 19th of January, 1839, and received a common school education. He also attended the High School at Harrisonville, Cass County, and remained at home, working on the farm, until nineteen years of age. During the late war he was Deputy Provost Marshal of the Sixth District of Mis- souri and was assigned to Clinton County, coming here July 14, 1863. During the war he also served as First Sergeant of a Missouri regiment. On the 5th of May, 1865, Mr. Birney was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court of Clinton County, and November 3, 1866, was elected for four years, but served five years and eight months. December 8, 1865, he commenced the publication of a paper, the first one issued here after the war. This was called the New Constitution, and was successfully car- ried on for about a year. Having resolved upon the practice of medi- cine as a profession, he commenced its study, reading under Dr. Essig, and attended lectures at the Missouri Medical College of St. Louis, and was graduated March 5, 1879. Dr. Birney was united in marriage to Miss Laura E. Maupin, a native of Richmond, Missouri, February 23, 1865. They have had, as a result of this marriage, two children.
ADAM A. BRECKENRIDGE,
farmer and stock raiser, section 34, post office Lathrop, is a native of Kentucky, and is a member of the Breckenridge family who attained a national reputation. He was born in Bourbon County, in 1837. His father was the proprietor of a large plantation, and the son early became interested in stock raising and agricultural pursuits, and became one of the rising men of his vicinity. In 1874, he removed to Clinton County, Missouri, and has since followed his chosen occupation. He owns 460 acres of good land, well adapted for successfully raising and feeding stock. He married Miss Rebecca D. Wilmot, of Bourbon County, Ken- tucky, October 7, 1856. She is a granddaughter of Colonel Wilmot, of Revolutionary fame. Their family consists of three sons : John .C., Wm. Wilmot and Jefferson Davis.
J. W. BOWLBY,
of Bowlby & Vallandingham, proprietors of the Laclede Hotel, is a native of Belvidere, Burlington County, New Jersey, and was born January 8,
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
1841. His father, Dr. Alfred Bowlby, was a well known practitioner in that county. When J. W. was in his third year he was taken by his parents to Ohio, and there resided until he attained his fifteenth year, when he came to Weston, Platte County, Missouri, where his father had preceded him a number of years and was one of the early and promi- nent physicians in the Platte Purchase. In 1856, our subject went into the mountains, where he made his home for over ten years, making several visits to the States. During that period, his time was divided between New Mexico, Colorado, California, Wyoming, Utah, Washing- ton Territory, the British Possessions and other localities, engaged principally in freighting, and at times as clerk in mercantile establish- ments. In that day the Indians reigned supreme and he was an actor with these individuals in many daring exploits, and had many hair breadth escapes. His familiarity with the Western country was good, and he was well known to the numerous adventurers who were traveling towards the setting sun. In 1867, he embarked in the restaurant busi- ness at Weston, and in 1868 came to Plattsburg, engaging in the liquor trade and continued it until January, 1881, when he opened the Laclede Hotel. As a hotel keeper he has proved himself a success. He found a wife in the person of Miss Lucy Noel, of Atchison County, Kansas, an esteemable lady and an excellent manager of household affairs.
ELI BROWN,
farmer and stock raiser, section 28, post office Plattsburg. The subject of this sketch is a native of Bath County, Kentucky, and was born Sep- tember 9, 1820. He is a tanner by trade, at which he worked in his native place for twelve years. In 1855, he emigrated to this county, where he has since resided, and, since his arrival, has followed the occu- pation of farming. He is an old settler, and a man .of integrity and solid worth in the community. He has forty acres of land, all of which is under cultivation. He was married, in 1848, to Miss Emily F. Purgrew, a lady of ability and taste. They have, from their union, four children : Thornton, Katie, Maggie and Enoch. He is a member of the Christian Church, and a liberal contributor toward its support.
W. R. CARTER,
farmer and stock raiser, section 9, post office Plattsburg. Among the pioneers of Clinton County was Mr. Charles H. Carter, who was a native of Cumberland County, Kentucky. He was justice of the peace of Con- cord Township for several years, and took an active part in developing the agricultural resources of this county, with which he was prominently identified until the time of his death, in. 1870. His son. W. R., was born in Clinton County, Missouri, March 4, 1836, and was there educated, his
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CONCORD TOWNSHIP.
early days being spent in tilling the soil. In 1862, he enlisted in the Union army, in Company F, Missouri State Militia, veteranized, and was a member of Company A, Thirteenth Missouri Veterans. He served through the rebellion and one year after, being honorably dis- charged as sergeant. Mr. C. has since confined his attention to agricul- tural pursuits. His estate consists of over 106 acres of land. Mr. C. is an industrious, progressive farmer, and favorably known among the respected citizens of Clinton County. lle married, in 1866, Miss Mar- tecia McCrory. They had a family of six children : Willie Kate, Minnie Ann, Charles S., Hattie Francis and Thomas N., living, and one, Corda Belle, deceased. S. D. Carter, farmer, section 9, post office Plattsburg, was born in Clinton County, Missouri, June 23, 1849, and is a son of the pioneer, C. H. Carter, and was raised and educated in Clinton County, and, at present, lives on the old homestead. His estate consists of eighty acres. In 1876, he married Miss Esther A. Abbott, a native of Kentucky. They have three children : Charles H., Clarence T. and Lulu M.
JAMES M. CLAY,
of the well known banking house of Clay & Funkhouser, was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, October 18, 1824. His father, George W. Clay, was a farmer of that county where the family, originally from Virginia, had lived for several generations. His mother's name was Rebecca. She was a daughter of George Winn, a well known farmer of Fayette County, Kentucky. His father dying when the subject of our sketch was a young boy, his mother moved, with her children, to Mis- souri ; and, in September, 1839, settled in Clay County, where James was reared on a farm, and where he received the limited advantages of education afforded in the schools of that period in the West. He was the second of a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters. Gifted with persevering energy, and a determination to achieve success in life, he soon overcame the obstacles and impediments in the path of his carly education, and speedily acquired that thorough knowledge of practical business which, coupled with his high character for personal integrity, has resulted in ranking him with the successful men of his day and generation. In October, 1839, shortly after his arrival in the state, he came to the site of the present town of Plattsburg, which then contained not more than half a dozen small and insignificant buildings. Settling in the neighborhood, he engaged in farming, in which occupa- tion, together with, from time to time, trading in live stock and other values, he remained engaged many years. In 1866, in company with his present partner, Mr. Joel Funkhouser, he embarked in the banking busi- ness in Plattsburg, opening the Clinton County Savings Bank. This concern soon commanded the confidence of the community, and has
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
continued since to enjoy a career of uninterrupted prosperity. In 1878, the style of the firm was changed to its present designation, the Bank- ing House of Clay & Funkhouser. In 1851, Mr. Clay was married to Miss Mary C. Gordon, daughter of Thomas C. Gordon, since dead, but, in his day, one of the wealthiest of the representative farmers of Clay County. They had, by this union, seven children, of whom four survive -William T., Henry R., Emma and Sallie G. Clay. In April, 1876, Mr. Clay was left a widower. On the 5th of November, 1880, occurred his second marriage. This was to Mrs. Alice H. Reynolds, a native of Missouri, and widow of John C. Reynolds, formerly a lawyer, and at one time a newspaper editor of Weston, in Platte County. The fruit of this marriage is a son, James M. Clay, Jr. In politics James M. Clay, as his father before him, was a Whig. On the dissolution of that party, he affiliated and subsequently continued to act with the Democratic party. On the breaking out of the civil war, though strongly opposed to the doctrine of secession, he was, in consequence of his southern birth and sympathies, treated as a rebel, and, in common with many others, sus- tained grievous financial injury. He has, however, to a considerable extent, recovered his losses ; and, besides his lucrative banking business, is the owner of one thousand acres of fine agricultural land. In 1851, he united with the Christian Church at Barry, a small town on the line of Clay and Platte counties, and was baptized by Elder Payne, a dis- tinguished minister of that denomination who was murdered during the civil war, in consequence of his sympathies with the Southern cause.
M. P. CLOUDAS,
the present proprietor of the Mineral Springs Hotel. One of the important features at the Plattsburg Mineral Springs is its hotel, which, under the proprietorship of Mr. C., has attained a justly merited reputa- tion for being a well-kept summer resort. Mr. C. is a native of Ken- tucky, and was born in Boone County, December 25, 1830. His father, Pitman Cloudas, was a native of Virginia, and a hotel man of long years of experience. When the subject of our sketch was in his fifteenth year, he migrated to Adams County, Illinois, residing a number of years, a portion of which time he followed hotel keeping. Afterwards he came to Missouri and engaged in the same business for several years, at Iron- ton, Iron County ; thence to Chillicothe, residing until August, 1881, when he took charge of the Mineral Springs Hotel. His long sojourn at Chillicothe gave him a wide acquaintanceship with the traveling public, as a popular and accommodating landlord. He was first proprietor of the Shirley House, and afterwards of the Park House. Although but a short time in Clinton County, he has made many friends. He married in 1859, Miss Mary Stroude, of Kentucky. By this union they have six
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CONCORD TOWNSHIP.
children : Ora M., Charles T., Mary E., Margaret and Ann. Lost two, Elizabeth and Sally. Himself and family are members of the M. E. Church, South.
ANTOINE G. CRAIG,
present (1881) Recorder of Deeds for Clinton County, was born in Car- roll County, Kentucky, January 25, 1848. He is the fifth of a family of eleven children, of whom four are living. These are, besides himself, the eldest surviving, Joshua M., John A., and a daughter, Callie. In 1855, he moved, with his parents, to Plattsburg, where he was educated. Here, October 3, 1876, he married Miss Elma Funkhouser, a daughter of George Funkhouser. They had one child, George Stanley, since dead. Mrs. Craig herself died, in 1878, and Mr. Craig has since remained a widower. He worked, during the first twenty years of his life, on a farm. At the end of this period he entered, as a student, the law office of James M. Riley, of Plattsburg, in which he remained four years, at the end of which period he was admitted to the Plattsburg bar. On the separation of the recordership of deeds from the circuit clerkship, Mr. Craig was appointed by Governor Woodson to the former office. This was in August, 1874. In the following November he was elected to the same office, and, at the end of his four years term, was re-elected. His father, Benjamin F. Craig, now a resident of Plattsburg, and, for sixteen years, a farmer in the neighborhood, is the author of several historical works, among which is the "Border Ruffian," embodying a history of the Kansas war. It was published in Cincinnati, in 1863. He also wrote the "Rough Diamond," a production in prose and verse, published in Kansas City, in 1880.
J. R. DAUGHERTY,
grocer, Plattsburg, one of Plattsburg's most respected and popular business men, is a native of Kentucky, and was born in Jeffersor. County, June 9, 1826. His father, William, was also a native of that state. When J. R. was quite young, the family migrated to Fayette County, residing nine years ; thence to Shelby County. His early days were spent in agricultural pursuits. In 1854, he came to Missouri, locating in Buchanan County, and engaged in agricultural pursuits, three miles east of St. Joseph, on what is now the John Williams farm. Here he remained until the breaking out of the war, when he became proprietor of a livery stable on Third Street, St. Joseph, and was identified among the horse- men for eleven years, when he returned to his native state, remaining for a time. In 1870, he came to Plattsburg, embarking in trade. Mr. D. is a gentleman of broad views, a business man of long experience, and has attained an enviable reputation for honesty, and fair dealing.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
He married in 1857, Mrs. Amelia Smith, of Richmond, Kentucky. By this union they have had five children, three of whom are living- Willie, Laura and Ella May. Lost two-Logan and Mattie.
W. F. DAVIS,
is a native of Buchanan County, Missouri, and was born January 12, 1840, on Rock House Prairie. His father, Ishmael, was one of the well known pioneers of the Platte Purchase. W. F. was raised and educated in Buchanan County, his boyhood days being devoted to tilling the soil. At the breaking out of the rebellion, his sympathies being with the Con- federate cause, he enlisted in Company E of the First Missouri Cavalry, serving eighteen months, when, on account of his ill-health, he was hon- orably discharged. In 1870, he became a permanent resident of Platts- burg, but previous to this time had been engaged in farming in the southwest portion of Clinton County. For several years he was occu- pied in merchandising at Union Mill, Platte County. After locating in Plattsburg he was engaged in trade for two years, and in 1872 was elected by the Democratic party as sheriff, and re-elected in 1874. For the office of county collector he has been the choice of the people for two terms. In his official capacity Mr. D. was found one of the most efficient. Has been thoughtful, industrious, and attended strictly to the legitimate duties partaining to the relative positions. In commercial circles he is well known, being largely interested in live stock and other branches of trade. He is a man of more than ordinary intelligence, a good financier, and an impressive conversationalist, clothing his ideas with appropriate language. In 1865, Miss Virginia B. Ashbury, of Rich- mond, Ray County, Missouri, an estimable lady, became his wife. They have five children living : William T., Clara, Nannie, Frank, Emma E. Their first-born, Marshall, died a few years ago. Mr. Davis belongs to the M. E. Church South, and is a Master Mason. Politically he has been a life long Democrat.
NICHOLAS DENNIS,
a prominent farmer and stock raiser, section 36, post office Plattsburg, is a native of Belgium, and was born May 30, 1835. He was there reared to manhood, and educated, and in 1857, emigrated to America, settling in Ohio, and resided in Hardin and Clinton Counties in that state. At the breaking out of the war, he enlisted in Company D, Forty- eighth Regiment, Tenth Division, Thirteenth Army Corps, as a private. He was promoted to sergeant, and afterwards commissioned lieutenant, serving one year. He served four years and seven months. At the close of the war, he returned to Ohio, where he remained till 1871, when he came to this state, and settled in this county, where he now resides.
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CONCORD TOWNSHIP.
He has 140 acres of land, 60 of which are under cultivation. He was married December 25, 1873, to Miss Julia Hannafin, a native of Ireland. From this union they have two children-John N. and Isaac A. They are members of the Catholic Church.
JAMES DITMARS,
farmer and stock man, section 12, post office Plattsburg, is a son of V. Detmars, a man to whom Clinton County is indebted as much as any agriculturist within its bounds for the active part he has taken in devel- oping its resources. He came to the county in 1837 and opened a farm near Hainesville, that section being then in its primitive state, and has since, although now well advanced in years, been closely identified with the substantial citizens of the county. His son James is a native of Ohio, and was born in Clinton County December 26, 1825, and became a resident of Clinton County, Missouri, in 1837, where he has since been a resident, with the exception of three years spent in the Mexican war. He owns over 350 acres of land in the county, the greater portion of which is in a high state of cultivation. As a stock feeder he is among the largest, and his barn, yards, etc., are well adapted for this industry. His residence, which is commodious, is attractively situated and indi- cates taste and comfort. Mr. D. has been twice married. First in 1849, to Miss Margaret Henderson. By this union they have had nine children : Catherine, C. M. George, Emma, Ida, Cora, Annie, Allie and James L. Mrs. D. died in 1870. In 1873, Mary Burkholder became his wife. The result of this union was four children : Bessie, Alma Grace, Charlie and Rosa.
W. B. DOHERTY,
farmer and stock raiser, section 10, post office Plattsburg. One of Mis- souri's early settlers, and one who was prominent in the pioneer days in the western part of the state, was Mr. Joseph B. Doherty, who was a native of Bedford County, Tennessee, born February 10, 1799. He came to Missouri, locating in Clay County, in 1824, but had been in the state previous, temporarily, having attended the first land sales at Franklin, in 1818. He was a leading agriculturist, in Clay and Clinton Counties, for a number of years. His death occurred in this county, August 8, 1878. For a time, he was in the employ of the government, at Agency, in Buchanan County, when the loway Indians were located there. His wife, the mother of W. B., was a native of Kentucky, and was born Jan- uary 9, 1817, and died in Clay County, Missouri, July 31, 1839. Her maiden name was Mary Groom. W. B. was born in Clay County, Mis- souri, November 21st, 1832, and came to Clinton County in 1851, and has since been a resident on the old homestead. His landed estate con-
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
sists of 314 acres. His home is pleasantly situated, and everything per- taining to the place indicates thrift and good management. Mr. D. has been twice married : First, in 1856, to Miss Dortha Ann McKorkle. By this union there were two children : Mary and Octavia. Mrs. D. died in 1870. In 1871, he married Mary E. Winn, of Clinton County. By the latter union there are two children : Joseph T. and Mildred E. Mr. D. is a genial gentleman, possessed of a well disciplined mind, and keeps pace with the progress of the age. He traces his ancestry to Irish lineage.
JOHN T. DOWNEY,
manufacturer of farm and spring wagons, horseshoer and general repairer, and agent for the Champion reapers and mowers, is a native of Ireland, and was born in County Kerry March 2, 1848. He was brought to America by his parents when one year old, his father, Thomas, locating with his family in Buchanan County, Missouri, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1866, his death occurred, he having been drowned in Casteel Creek at the site of Royan's store. John T. com- menced to learn the blacksmith trade in St. Joseph in 1863, continuing two and a half years. He followed his trade for a time at Kearney and Cameron, and, in 1865, engaged in business in Plattsburg. He is a thorough and proficient workman, and has built up a good trade. His specialty is plow work, and in this, as in repairing farm machinery, his business will compare favorably with any in the northwest. In 1877, Mr. D. married Miss Mary A. Hickey. They have one son, Thomas H.
HON. GEORGE W. DUNN,
was born in Mercer County, Kentucky, on the 15th day of October, 1815. He was the son of Lemuel and Sarah Reed Dunn, his father dying when his son had reached the age of thirteen years. His early school days were spent in Cain Run Academy, a classical institution, located in the immediate vicinity of his home. After leaving Cain Run Academy, (his parents being in limited circumstances,) he taught school a portion of his time, in order to enable him to enter the law school of the Transyl- vania University, at Lexington, Kentucky, where he remained during the winters of 1836 and 1837. He graduated in 1837. Among his class- mates at the university, were Montgomery Blair, afterwards Postmaster General ; Beriah McGoffin, afterwards Governor of Kentucky ; Richard Y'ates, afterwards Governor of Illinois ; Orlando B. Ficklen, Representa- tive in Congress from Illinois ; O. R. Singleton, Representative from Mississippi, and Samuel H. Woodson, Representative in Congress from Missouri, and others, who achieved honorable distinction in public life. In the spring of 1837, he obtained a license from Judges Roberson and
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CONCORD TOWNSHIP
Marshall, of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, and began the practice of law in the town of Nicholasville, Jessamine County, where he remained until the spring of 1839, at which time he came to Missouri, and located in Richmond, Ray County. Here, he immediately resumed the practice of his profession, and devoted himself exclusively to it, until 1841, when he received by appointment, his commission as Circuit Attorney of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, from Governor Reynolds, succeeding Peter H. Burnett, who afterwards became the first Governor of California. He continued to fill the office of circuit attorney until 1848, when he was commissioned judge of the circuit, as the successor of Hon. Austin A. King, who was that year elected governor of the state. In 1851, occurred the first election of judges in the state, (the offices heretofore having been filled by appointment,) when Judge Dunn was elected by the people. He was again elected in 1857, and continued in office till 1861, when he retired, declining to take what was called the "Test Oath." In 1863, however, he was again elected judge, and went out of office in May, 1865, under the "Ousting Ordinance," passed by the Drake Constitu- tional Convention. He then resumed the practice of law until 1874, when he was again elected Judge of the old Fifth Circuit. He was re- elected in 1880, for a term of six years, and now (1881) is the judge of that circuit. Judge Dunn was a member of the convention in 1861, which held its first session in St. Louis during that year, and its subsequent sessions at Jefferson City. That convention was called to consider the relations of the state to the Federal government, and established the provisional government of the state, electing Hamilton R. Gamble as Governor. The Judge's associates at the bar, from 1839 to 1848, during the period when he was circuit attorney, were General A. W. Doniphan, General David R. Atchison, Peter H. Burnett, General Andrew S. Hughes, General B. F. Stringfellow, Colonel Wm. T. Wood, Robert D. Ray, Amos Rees, Philip L. Edwards, Ephraim B. Ewing, Elijah H. Nor- ton, and others. He married Susan M. Henderson, of Nicholasville, Kentucky, in May, 1841. They have had five children, all of whom are dead, excepting John H. Dunn, who is now twenty-nine years of age, a lawyer by profession. Judge Dunn is called the "Poet Judge." During the early years of his life, while still in his teens, he became exceedingly fond of poetry. Like Burns, he delighted in the scenery surrounding the home of his childhood, the beauty and grandeur of which tended to develop whatever of passion he had for poesy and song. It was during one of his rambles among the crags and cliffs of his native hills, which overlook the picturesque banks of that classic stream, the Kentucky River, that he composed the poem entitled " White Cliff Cottage," which was published at the time, and obtained a wide circulation. When about to commence the practice of law, the Judge, concluding that poetry and law were somewhat incompatible, wrote his " Farewell to My Harp,"
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