USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 51
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J. A. WEBSTER, M. D.
John A. Webster was born in Athens, Ohio, November 19th, 1841. He received a common school education in Athens, which he completed at the Hatwinton High School, of Litchfield, Connecticut, residing while in that city, with his grandparents. When sixteen years of age he began the study of medicine under Dr. J. H. Worthington, of Albany, Ohio, continued six months, and then went to Keokuk, Iowa, where he studied a short time under Dr. J. H. Sanford. Leaving Keokuk he entered the Bellevue Hospital College, of New York City, and graduated therefrom in the spring of 1860, and the same year began practice in Keokuk, continning until the breaking
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
out of the civil war. He received his commission as assistant surgeon of the First New York light artillery in 1861, served during the war, and was mustered ont in 1865. Coming to Grundy county he lived with his mother ten miles north of Trenton, practicing medicine in that vicinity for two years. In 1872 he removed to Trenton, and soon secured a large and profit- able practice in that city, and also in Grundy county. He became associated with Dr. J. Il. Patton in October, 1879, and the firm of Webster & Patton still remains. Dr. Webster was nnited in marriage to Miss Lucy Logan, of Trenton, in 1879.
MORRIS WETZLER
Was born in Saaz, Austria, March 15th, 1842. He lived with his parents until he was thirteen years of age, when he came to America with a cousin, with whom he lived two years, in New York City, and attended school, then went to Chicago and attended Skinner's School for one year, and returning to New York City, attended the Allen Street School where he completed his educa- tion, in his seventeenth year. For a short time afterward he kept books for his brother who was a dealer in leather in New York City. In 1861 he went to Chicago and in June following enlisted in company K, Thirty- seventh Illinois volunteer infantry, serving during the war, and participat- ing in the battles of Pea Ridge, Neosha, Prairie Grove (in which he was wounded), siege of Vicksburg, and others. In 1864, by the recommenda- tion of Major-general N. P. Banks, he was promoted second lientenant of company B, Fifth United States infantry. He resigned his commission in 1865, and on leaving the service went to New York City, and after making a visit of some three or four months went to Chicago and embarked in the dry goods business with A. B. Wolf under the firm name of Wetzler & Wolf. They did business until 1867, and then dissolved, and he was appointed deputy sheriff of Cook county, Illinois, and filled that position until 1871, when he visited St. Louis, taking a respite from business for a year. In 1872 he went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and engaged in the dry goods business until the spring of 1873, then went to Bowling Green, Missouri, and carried on the same business four years. In 1877 he came to Trenton and engaged in his present merchant tailoring business. In 1872 he married Miss Amelia Engel, of St. Louis. They have six children: Minnie, Alice, Josephine and Bessie, living; and two, Albert and Joachim, dead.
BENJAMIN F. WYATT
Was born on a farm near Paris, Monroe county, Missouri, November 29, 1838. His parents removed to Grundy county and settled in Franklin township in 1839, where he was reared, and worked on the farm, and at- tended district school up to 1856, when during that year he attended the Trenton high school. He taught school in Mercer and Grundy counties,
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until July, 1861, when he enlisted in company C, Twenty-third Missouri volunteer infantry, as orderly-sergeant was promoted to second lieutenant March 8, 1862, and to first lientenant May 8, 1863. He served three years and participated in a number of battles and skirmishes, and was mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, September 22, 1864. He returned to Grundy county and soon after was employed in his brother's (J. T. Wyatt) store at a place then called Middlebury, in Mercer county, where he re- mained only four months. In the fall of 1865, he came to Trenton and engaged in the saloon business, which he followed until 1866, when he was deputized county clerk by R. P. Carnes, and acted as such until 1867, when he began to work at his present business of mason and plasterer. December 7, 1864, he married Miss Corlissa Reynolds, of Trenton, they have four children: Kate, fifteen years of age; Elmore E., twelve; Carrie, eight; and Ethel, four.
WILLIAM H. WILSON.
William Harvey Wilson, present sheriff of Grundy county, was born near Edinburg, Grundy county, Missouri, March 31, 1844. He lived with his parents, James and Nellie Wilson, at Edinburg and Trenton until his nineteenth year, when he joined the Federal army, enlisting in company A, Forty-fourth Missouri volunteer infantry and served one year, the term of enlistment. After his discharge he returned to Trenton and began to learn the trade of shoemaking with F. P. Buren, and afterwards worked for other persons until 1870, when he entered the store of Dr. R. N. Feather- ston as a clerk and continued with him until 1873. In 1875 he was elected constable of Trenton township and served as such until 1880, when, in No- vember of that year, he was elected sheriff of Grundy county and still holds that position. December 24, 1872, he married Miss Mollie E. Crouch, of Trenton. He is a member of Trenton Lodge No. 52, I. O. O. F., of Tren- ton. His mother died when he was very young.
LAFAYETTE B. WALKER
Was born in Muhlenburgh county, Kentucky, April 27, 1840. His parents came to Grundy county when he was only one year old and settled on a farm near Trenton, where he was reared and still resides. In 1861 he en- listed in company A, Third Missouri volunteer cavalry, which was after- wards consolidated with the Seventh Missouri cavalry as company K. He served during the war, participating in a number of engagements, the most important being Springfield and Newtonia, Missouri, and Mine Creek, and was mustered out at St. Louis, April 15, 1865. After being mustered out he returned to Trenton and began work at the carpenter trade under W. H. Smith, with whom he continued until 1868, when he engaged in the busi- ness as contractor and builder, and among the many fine buildings he has 30
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
erected are those of Austin's Bank and the business houses of Conrads & Brother, R. H. Hume, Austin & McMullen, J. H. Kerfoot, G. R. Hammer and H. Wettstein; also the residences of Mr. Crow, Dr. Kilburn, David Lowry and George Gilmore, as well as several prominent buildings at Chil- licothe. March 9, 1868, he married Miss Elizabeth Lowen, of Trenton, by whom he has five children; namely, Charles, Edward A., Carrie, Robert and Thomas. Mrs. Walker is a member of the Christian Church at Trenton. Mr. Walker received the Master Mason's degree in Trenton Lodge No. 111, in 1876, and the Royal Arch degree in Trenton R. A. Chapter in 1876. He is also a Knight of Pythias, a member of Adelphia Lodge, No. 38, of Trenton.
THOMAS A. WOODRESS.
Is a native of Grundy county, born in Edinburg, Madison township, April 24, 1857, where he was reared. He was educated in the district school of Edinburg and at Grand River College. When seventeen years of age he entered his father's store at Edinburg as clerk and was with him two years In the spring of 1876 he came to Trenton and clerked in his father's store until 1877, when he engaged in the grocery business for himself. Although Mr. Woodress is quite a young man he has made a good start in life; he relies on his own efforts and has never received aid from any one. Decem- ber 16th, 1877, he married Miss Lizzie E. Hoskins, of Glenwood, Missouri. They have two children: Albert Colburn and James Leslie. He is an Odd Fellow, a member of Grand River Lodge No. 52, of Trenton, and is past grand, and is also a member of Trenton encampment of Odd Fellows.
J. M. WANNAMAKER
Was born near Picton, Prince Edwards county, Canada West, December 18th, 1844. At the age of twenty he began to learn the blacksmith trade with W. Way at Mountain View, in his native county, with whom he worked over three years, then started out as journeyman and worked as such in Canada, Illinois and Missouri. He established a shop in Jameson, Missouri, in 1871. Leaving there in 1877 he came to Trenton and engaged in his present business of carriage and wagon-making with J. E. Carter, as Carter & Wannamaker. In 1879 Mr. Carter retired from the firm and he is now sole proprietor and is doing a large local trade and employs some six or eight men constantly. In February, 1872, he married Miss Emma Stafford, of DeKalb county, Missouri. They have two children: Earl and Effie.
EDLEY WILSON
Was born near Lineus, Linn county, Missouri, January 1st, 1840. He came to Grundy county with his parents when he was seven years old, and settled on a farm near Trenton where he was reared a farmer. His father dying when he was fourteen years old, he was the main-stay of his mother with whom he lived and worked the farm, maintaining her and the younger
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portion of the family, two brothers and three sisters, until attaining his majority. He afterwards owned and resided upon the farm until 1870. Deeem- ber 20th, 1866, he married Miss Elizabeth Colley, of Grundy county. She is a native of Pennsylvania, born near Pittsburgh, in 1850, and came to Grundy county with her parents when she was twelve years old and settled near Trenton. She was educated in the schools of Trenton, her teachers being her brother, Samuel M. Colley, and Prof. R. C. Norton. Mr. Wilson, during the late war, was a Union man and was enrolled in the State militia and held himself in readiness for duty, but was called out only once, when he participated in the engagement with bushwhackers at the forks of Grand River, and was taken prisoner and lost two horses. Leaving his farm in 1870 he came to Trenton and with his father-in-law, Peter Colley, rented the Bismark House which they kept up to 1872, then bought the National House, and on Mr. Colley retiring from the business in 1877 he became sole proprietor. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have two children, William and Minnie, both born in Trenton.
HENRY WETTSTEIN
1 Was born in Zurich, Switzerland, October 18, 1847, where he was reared and educated, attending the primary and high schools of Zurich until his eighteenth year, when he was apprenticed for three years to learn the mer- cantile business. At the expiration of that time he came to the United States, landing in New York City, June 1, 1867, and soon after settled in Quiney, Illinois, and engaged in the wholesale and retail liquor business. In 1870 he removed to Canton, Missouri, and continued in the same bus- iness until July, 1874, when he was burned out. The following August he came to Trenton, engaged in the same occupation until June 16, 1881, when he retired from business on account of rheumatism, with which he had been afflicted for two years. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and holds the position of distriet deputy grand chancellor. He has also been a member of the Druids, of Quiney, Illinois, since 1867. September 23, 1875, he married Miss Frederika Roh, of Canton, Missouri. They have three children: Daisy Birdie, Walter Henry and Edgar Leroy.
W. T. WISDOM
Was born on a farm in Randolph county, Missouri, May 23, 1841. His father dying when he was two years old, he was placed with his grandfather, Thomas Wisdom, with whom he lived until he was ten or eleven years old, and since that age has maintained himself. He has never had an oppor- tunity of attending school, but by personal application and improving spare moments, has acquired a very good business education. He worked as a farm hand in Randolph and adjoining counties until his seventeenth year, 1858, when he began elerking in the store of Renfro & Arbogast, at Tren-
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ton, and was with them about one year. He was next employed by H. Renfro, to take charge of his grocery store, and was with him until 1861, when he enlisted in company B, Twenty-third Missouri volunteer infantry, under Capt. R. A. DeBolt, and served until the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6, 1862, where he was badly wounded and left on the field, and from the effects of which he has never fully recovered. He was discharged, Octo- ber 6, 1862, and returned to Trenton and engaged in keeping a saloon which he soon after abandoned at the request of his wife. He next embarked in the mercantile business with J. C. Griffin, under the firm name of Wisdom & Griffin. Retiring from the firm one year afterward, he was variously employed until 1864, when he again engaged in the dry goods business, this time with N. Shanklin, under the firm name of Wis- dom & Shanklin. In the spring of 1865, the firm having closed ont, he was employed in the store of G. W. Moberly until 1866, and from that time up to 1877 was employed most of the time in the store of J. M. Bailey. In August of that year he was appointed, and served two terms as county collector, and from May, 1879, until June, 1880, was in the dry goods bus- iness with R. E. Boyce, successor to J. M. Bailey. In March, 1881, he established his present dry goods house. He has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Fannie E. Carter, whom he married December 24, 1862, and who died at Trenton, November 15, 1871, and by whom he had three children; namely, Nora B., Carrie and William P. Miss Nora is a graduate of the Trenton high school, of the class of 1881. His second marriage was to Miss Mary A. Swayze, of Grundy county, in August, 1872, by whom he has three boys: Frank, Hugh and Albert.
JAMES R. WILLSON
Was born on a farm near Zanesville, Ohio, July 7, 1837. When seventeen years old he left his parents and went to Granville, Illinois, where he, with James Caldwell, bought a steam saw-mill and ran it under the firm name of Caldwell & Willson. They were together about two and a half years when they sold out and dissolved, and he went to Iowa, rented a farm near Washington and pursued farming until 1859. He next went to Blooming- ton, Illinois, and was employed by E. Barber & Co., proprietors of the McLain County Mills, as an engineer, until April, 1861, when he was em- ployed in the same capacity in the mills and elevator of E. Rogers, of the same place, and worked there one year. On the 6th of August, 1862, he enlisted in company A, Ninety-fourth Illinois volunteer infantry, and served during the war, taking part in thirteen engagements, the most im- portant being the battles of Prairie Grove, siege of Vicksburg, Fort Mor- gan, Spanish Fort, Mobile and Galveston; was wounded in a skirmish at Morganza, Louisiana; and was mustered out at Springfield, Illinois, August, 1865. Returning to Bloomington he was employed by E. Rogers & Co. as
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
an engineer in the Normal Mills for one year, when he went to Washing- ton, Iowa, where he was employed, in 1866, by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company as fireman. In 1868 he was changed from fire- man to brakeman, and in 1869 was promoted to conductor, and in 1877 was appointed yard-master at Trenton. He has been twice married, first to Miss Hattie J. Miller, of Washington, Iowa, January 1, 1861, who died at Wilton, Iowa, December 13, 1874. They had three children: Elmer E., Ivy O. and Louella. His second marriage was to Miss Josie A. Bennett, of Leavenworth, Kansas, on the 13th of December, 1875. They have had one child, Harry B., who died at Trenton when three years old.
R. V. YOUNG
Was born in Hiram, Portage county, Ohio, May 9, 1840. He was reared in his native place and lived there until 1869. In 1861 he joined the Union army, enlisting in company A, Forty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, un- der Captain A. Williams, the late president James A. Garfield being the colonel. He served three years, the term for which he enlisted, in Ken- tucky, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas, and participated in many en- gagements, the most important being the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Ar- kansas Post, Port Gibson, Champion's Hill and Black River Bridge. Was mustered out of the service and discharged at Columbus, Ohio, September 29, 1864. He returned to Hiram, Ohio, and soon after was employed in the railroad office at Garrettsville, in the same county, where he remained one year, and then went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania. After a few months he returned to Hiram and worked on the homestead farm until the spring of 1869, when he came to Missouri and settled at Trenton and began working at the carpenter and joiner's trade. This work he continued until May, 1875, when he was appointed city marshal of Trenton and served in that capacity until May, 1881, and again resumed the carpenter business and is an extensive contractor and builder. February 21, 1867, he married Miss Irena Bishop, of Hiram, Ohio. They have one child, Orin.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
CHAPTER XIX.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
Its Location-One of the Group of Seren-Its Soil, Creeks, Woodlands and Prairies- Its First Settlers-The First "Corn-cracker"-The First Cabin-Early Erents-Elec- tions -- Churches-Schools-Spickardsrille-Its Incorporation-Mayor and Trustees- Additions-A Shipping Point-Its Schools and Churches-Its Business in 1881- Names of its Business Men-Biographical Sketches.
This township, which occupies the north central portion of Grundy county and lies within the congressional lines described by township sixty-three and range twenty-four, and a portion of township sixty-three, range twenty- three, is bounded on the north by Mercer county, on the east by Myers township, on the south by Lincoln and on the west by Washington. Under the organization of 1841, Franklin was one of the original townships which composed Grundy and Mercer counties, under the civil jurisdiction of the former. Later, Franklin stood as one of the group of seven townships forming Grundy, when Mercer was duly constituted a separate and distinct county organization in 1845. It remained one of the seven until the present thirteen townships were laid off in 1872. Franklin township was early recognized as one of the most desirable portions of the county, though its arable acres were orginally nearly or quite three-fourths woodland.
The "nnwedgeable and gnarled oak" flourished in wild luxuriance lifting its acorned boughs towards the sky, while near it grew the hickory, the linden, and other varieties less numerous. But before the civilizing influence of the woodman's ax the shadowy nooks disappeared, and where once timbered forests stood, fertile fields lie yellow with their ripening grain. The rugged and rolling surface of the township covers a soil rich and fruitful, irrigated by the waters of the Weldon River running nearly through its center, with Muddy Creek farther to the east, and Honey Creek almost upon the eastern border, while a second and smaller stream also bearing the name of Mnddy Creek, winds its sinnous way through the western portion of the township, emptying into the Weldon just north of Lincoln township.
The earliest evidences of white settlers within the limits of what now con- stitutes Franklin township were left by Mormons. These followers of Joe Smith are supposed to have been members of the party who settled in Jack- son county as early as 1832, and also in Daviess and Ray counties. It seems that some four families stopped in this township, leaving in the early part of the fall of 1838, immediately after the Mormon troubles at Honn's Mill in Daviess county. How long they had been in the township previous to their departure it is impossible to state. They erected cabins, but cleared only small patches of ground, which led the early settlers to suspect that they
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
intended to make only temporary resting places, then move on, leaving the way marked for other Mormons to follow and take possession. Two of these encampments were found, one about two and a half miles east of what is now the town of Spickardsville, consisting of a cabin and about four acres of ground, and the other about four miles west of the first, similarly improved. From what can be learned the names of the Mormon families occupying these cabins were Lathrop, Jackson, Bosley and Ives, and they were undoubtedly the first white settlers of Franklin township. Following in the paths of the Mormons came James Weldon, the first permanent white settler of the township, and after whom the Weldon River takes its name. He with his family came from Lincoln county, Kentucky, and located in Franklin township in the fall of 1838, in the same neighborhood then occupied by the Mormons, and upon whose departure he took possession of one of their vacated claims. The next settlers were the families of Garrison Carmine and Joseph Men- denhall, who located upon the remaining claim left by the Mormons. In January of 1839, Andrew Weldon, brother of James, arrived in the town- ship and moved into the Mormon cabins on the claim which was then ocen- pied by Carmine and Mendenhall.
The following spring brought a number of families, among which were those of William Keith, David Ashbrook, William Schooler, Benjamin Nicholls, Charles Schooler, Thos. Blakely and Levi Keith, who hailed from Ohio, and about the same time came the families of John Rockholt, Allen England, Royal Williams, Harrison Newton, John Sires, Benjamin D. Thaxton, Rich- ard Williams and William Reid, also William Wyatt and Thomas Thomp- son, from Kentucky. These were the early pioneers, whose best efforts were put forth to build up and make habitable the township.
At that time the Indian roamed at will through the shady forests, over the grassy hills, along the gurgling streams, or up the gloomy ravines, pass- ing their time in hunting and fishing, and trading with the whites, who had thus made homes within their territory. They were peaceable and often rendered much assistance to the pale-face brothers. The woods abounded in wild deer and turkey, and the unerring rifle of the hunter kept the fam- ily larder well supplied, while the bee-tree was tapped and yielded a golden harvest of liquid sweetness. The little clearing was planted in corn, which was manufactured into bread without any patent process of grinding. The usnal way was to burn a basin-like hole in a block or stump, pour in the corn, while the grinding was the work of an iron wedge, with which the kernels were mashed. This system of milling operations existed until 1841, when joy reigned throughout the settlement upon the purchase of the first hand mill or "corn-cracker," which was the joint property of the settlers, all paying a portion of its cost, and all using it part of the time. The clothing of the settlers was of home production, the work of the good housewife. Sheep furnished wool for clothing in winter, while flax and
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
hemp were utilized in the manufacture of summer wear. Coon-skins made excellent caps, while cowhide supplied the material for moccasins. With the above mentioned luxuries the pioneers and their families led lives happy and contented, little worried by the burdensome cares of a mere subsist- ence, although they were forced to forego many of the comforts and even necessities, of a life of to-day. Early thrift brought early plenty, and the hardy yeomen remembering this, bended to their labors with lighter hearts, and when the work of the day was done, they went home to rest and enjoy themselves. Quarrelling was not one of the amusements in those days, and stealing was unheard of. The howling wolves were the only prowlers, and if the sheep were protected from their depredations, and the deer and turkey hung out of reach, the howl created no terror in the neighborhood. Money was then almost unknown, but coon-skins and deer and deer-skins were the currency of the realm, receivable for all dues, and with a load of these the settler made his way to Glasgow, a distance of ninety miles, the nearest trading-point, where the necessary winter supplies were purchased and hauled home.
TIIE FIRST CABIN.
The first cabin erected upon the soil of Franklin township was built by the Mormons, and, as mentioned afterward, occupied by the family of James Weldon, and still later became the home of the family of Wm. Wyatt, who purchased it from Mr. Weldon. This cabin was a primitive structure con- structed of green linden logs, one room, one window and the same number of doors. The covering was made of the bark from the linden and elm, with puncheon floor. This cabin occupied a site one and a half miles northwest of Spickardsville. The other mansions of those days were built from the same pattern and furnished with equal disregard of expense, so that the work was well done.
EARLY EVENTS.
Among the early events transpiring in the township, a few may be of more than passing interest to readers of to-day. Miss Margaret Ashbrook was the first young lady to make her appearance in the township, in the year 1840, and was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Ashbrook. John C. Nichols was the first male child to see light of day for the first time in the township. He was born Jannary 9th, 1840, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Benj. Nichols. Mr. John C. Nichols is still living in the township on a farm northeast of Spickardsville.
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