USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 66
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
dred and twenty acres of as fine land as can be found in the county, under cultivation and with good buildings, orchards and other improvements. His farm is well stocked and he stands as one of the solid men financially in this part of the county.
E. R. M'KEEN
Was born in Erie county, New York, January 16, 1822; a son of Robert McKeen and Elmira, his wife-her maiden name being Elmira Pain. His father was a native of Bradford, Vermont, born in 1793, and was a great- grandson of James McKeen, that old heroic Protestant who endured all the terrible privations at the siege of Derry, in the north of Ireland, and who, in the spring of 1719, left friends and country, and with the rest of the little Scotch colony left Ireland and settled in what is now known as Lon- donderry, New Hampshire. The ancestors on his mother's side were noted for the effectual and valuable services rendered in the cause of independence, during the war of the Revolution. At the age of eighteen years the sub- ject of this sketch learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, and then went to Upper Canada to work. While there he married on October 6th, 1845, Miss Sarah Hall, a native of Canada, although of New Hampshire ancestry. She was born on August 1st, 1825. He remained in Canada till 1850, then moved to Macomb county, Michigan, and lived there till 1858, and from there moved to Benton county, Arkansas. In the fall of 1862 he came to Grundy county, and located in Lincoln township, where he has since resided. When he lived in Arkansas he was a staunch Union man, and as those were the "times that tried men's souls " as well as their bodies, he sought a more congenial home and therefore located in Grundy county. While in Arkan- sas he lost all his possessions, but with a will to do and dare he again set his energies to work, and now owns one of the finest stock farms in the county, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres of choice land, all well improved and stocked, two fine orchards and good buildings. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McKeen, seven of whom are still living. Their names are: Frederick, born June 1, 1845; George, born November 30, 1846; Juliet, born August 31, 1852; Charles, born August 11, 1856; Retta, born April 1, 1859; Annie, born December 8, 1861; Wal- ter, born September 25, 1864; and Clarissa, who died at the age of two years.
J. S. P. MARSHALL,
A native of Franklin county, Ohio, was born upon the land where the city of Columbus now stands, October 29, 1819. His father, J. S. P. Marshall, Sr., was born in England, and his mother, Nancy Marshall, was a native' of Maryland. His father died in Ohio, and his mother migrated to Grundy county in 1839, and lived here till 1863, then went to Tazewell county, Illinois, where she died at the advanced age of one hundred years. The
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subject of this sketch was educated in Ohio, and there learned the carpen- ter's trade. Early in 1839 he came to Missouri and located in Grundy county; lived here till 1863, then resided five years in Chillicothe, and re- turned here in the fall of 1868, where he has since continued to live; he has spent most of his time at the carpenter business, but now devotes his attention to his farm. On the 25th of February, 1840, Mr. Marshall and Miss Nancy Young were united in marriage. She was a native of Putnam county, Indiana, born April 9, 1821, and a daughter of Joseph and Priscilla Young, who migrated to Missouri in 1839 and settled in Grundy county. By this marriage they have had sixteen children, eight of whom are still living; viz., Sarah, born November 29, 1841; Mary, born January 17, 1843; Joseph, born January 11, 1844; Minerva, born January 5, 1853; Julia, born October 31, 1856; George, born November 27, 1859; Martha, born February 15, 1862; and James, born September 16, 1865. Rachel died when about twenty-five years of age, and seven others died in infancy. James, the youngest son, is living with his father, and is the staff of his aged parents' declining years. Mrs. Marshall died November 1, 1880. She was a consistent Christian, and many warm friends mourned her loss. Mr. Marshall was a member of the first grand jury that sat in Grundy county, and is now the only surviving member of that body. He was teacher of the second school taught in Trenton. He is a member of the Methodist Church, and a man universally respected. His daughter, Julia, now the wife of Benjamin Holloway, remains at home and keeps house for her father.
WILLIAM P. MARTIN
Was born in Miami county, Ohio, January 21, 1803. He is a son of Levi Martin, a native of Pennsylvania, who cut the first bush where the city of Cincinnati now stands, and was a soldier during the Revolutionary War. His mother, Delilah Martin, nee Corbly, was one who suffered terribly by reason of Indian barbarities, as will be seen from the following extract copied from a sketch in a book of narratives published in 1785:
" On the second sabbath in May, 1782, I set out with my dear wife and five children to fill my appointment at Red Stone Fort, about a mile from my dwelling. Not suspecting any danger, I was walking about two hnn- dred yards behind my family with my Bible in my hand, meditating, when I heard frightful shrieks from my family. I hastened toward them, vainly looking for a club. When I was within forty yards of them, my poor wife, seeing me, called to me to make my escape. An Indian ran up to shoot me, but I outran him. My dear wife had a babe at the breast, and this in- fant they killed and scalped. They then struck my wife several times, but failing to knock her down, the Indian that pursued mne ran and shot her and scalped her. A daughter, besides the infant, they also killed and
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
-scalped. My eldest daughter was hid in a tree about twenty yards distant and witnessed the whole proceedings. After seeing the Indians go away she came from the hollow trunk, but one of the Indians saw her and run up and knocked her down and scalped her." Other atrocities were perpetrated upon this family. The last mentioned daughter was the mother of the subject of our sketch. She survived the terrible wounds, and al- though she lived to be sixty-nine years of age and was the mother of eleven children, ten of whom she reared to manhood and womanhood, the wound where she had been scalped never healed. Win. P. Martin, of whom we write, was the third son of this noted and noble mother. Her father was a noted minister of the gospel. Mr. Wm. P. Martin was married Oc- itober 12, 1826, to Miss Mary Blue, of the same county, born April 24, 1807. This couple in their young days lived on the frontier and remember well the events that occurred during the War of 1812. In 1836 they moved to Elkhart county, Indiana, lived there about thirty years, and in 1867 moved to Grundy county, Missouri, and settled upon the farm now occupied by them, and called the model farm of the county. He also has a very fine orchard of six hundred trees. His farm contains two hun- dred and eighty acres. They have had eight children, named as follows: Clarissa, died when twenty-eight years of age; James, died when thirty- two years; Tyler, was a Union soldier during the civil war; Blackford, now living near home; Arsinoe, died while a nurse in the hospital at Corinth, in 1863; William, died in infancy; Washington, died when twenty-four years of age; Mary, now the wife of Albert Yates, is living with her par- ents and keeping house for them. Three grandchildren; viz., Nora M. Yates, Martin Yates and Ella Yates, also make their home with their parents and grandparents. They have been life-long members of the Christian Church.
DAVID MURPHY,
A native of Richland county, Ohio, born May 10, 1831, is a son of Robert Murphy, who was one of the old pioneers of Richland county, Ohio, but now a resident of Grundy county. David Murphy lived in Ohio till twenty-two years of age then moved to Henry county, Iowa, and lived there till the beginning of the war. He enlisted in company H, Twenty-fifth Iowa volunteer infantry, and served with that regiment during the war, and was in all the various engagements in which it participated. . At the close of the war he returned to Iowa and lived in Poweshiek county two years, then moved to Grundy county, Missouri, and located where he now lives. He was married, May 15, 1860, to Miss Susan Bashon, a native of Ohio county, Virginia. She was born March 14, 1834. Her father moved to Iowa in 1836, and was one of its earliest settlers; he afterward came to Missouri and died in Mercer county. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have been the
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
parents of eight children, five of whom are still living; viz., Ella R., born October 15, 1861; David F., born July 30, 1863; Olive M., born March 1, 1868; Amy S., born November 15, 1871; Henry O., born April 24, 1877; Araminta B., born July 24, 1866, died April 28, 1871; and two boys died in infancy. Mr. Murphy went to Colorado in 1872 and remained twenty-two months, engaged in mining, then returned to his farm in Grundy county. He has been very successful in accumulating property and now owns four hundred and twenty acres of fine land, also an orchard of five hundred and fifty trees of choice varieties. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
B. M. PATTON
Was born near Huntsville, Alabama, December 25, 1822, where he lived till about seven years of age and then moved to Lincoln county, Tennessee, where he lived about eight years. In 1837 he removed to Randolph county, Missouri, and lived there till March, 1855, when he moved to Grundy county and located in Lincoln township, where he owns two hundred and forty-five acres of fine land and has since lived, engaged in farming. He- was married, February 6, 1849. to Parmelia Baxter, a native of Howard county, Missouri, born October 26, 1831. She is a daughter of Richard and Margaret Baxter, both natives of Kentucky; her mother died in 1876, and her father in 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Patton have had fourteen children, six of whom are still living; viz., John W., born September 15, 1851; Helena Jane, born April 23, 1855; Berkley, born September 23, 1858; James, born January 3, 1870; Bettie, born November 24, 1872; and Thomas B., born December 15, 1874. They lost eight, aged from eight months to eight years.
EDWARD PENNELL,
A native of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, was born March 22, 1814; is a son of Evan and Hannah Pennell, both natives of Pennsylvania. His mother died in 1836, and his father, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, died in the year 1847. When our subject was about five years of age, his parents brought him to Chester county, Pennsylvania, and he lived there- till he was twenty-three years of age; during this time he had learned the wagon-making trade; went to Morgan county, Ohio, and there worked at his trade for twenty-three years, then moved on a farm in the same county, where he remained till the spring of 1876, when he came to Missouri and settled in Grundy county.
He was married, April 2, 1840, to Miss Susan Metcalf. She is a native of Belmont county, Ohio, born August 14, 1820, and is a daughter of Abram and Hannah Metcalf, who were quite noted Quakers in Belmont county, Ohio. Her father died August 1, 1868, and her mother, February 11, 1874.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
By this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pennell have had eight children, six of whom are still living; viz., Abram, born April 20, 1841; Lydia, born November 6, 1846, now the wife of James Marion, of Michigan; Alice, born April 2, 1853; Jesse T., born December 12, 1858; Mary C., born June 14, 1862; Eddie G., born March 14, 1866; Charles D., born August 26, 1849, died October 2, 1873; and one daughter died in infancy.
J. H. PROCTOR,
Eldest son of Francis M. Proctor, was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, June 21, 1849. His father was a native of Jessamine county, Kentucky, born January 13, 1827, and lived there until six years of age, then moved to Mercer county, Kentucky, where he remained till 1862, then moved to Grundy county. He was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Baker, September 19, 1848. She was a native of Garrard county. Kentucky, born January 5, 1829. By this union they had nine children; namely, John H. (date given above); Aaron A., born February 29, 1852; Abram, born October 15, 1854; Samuel, born March 18, 1856; Sallie, born August 6, 1857; Susan M., born August 28, 1859; Missouri A., born April 3, 1866; William F., born May 18, 1853, died March 13, 1870; Joseph M., born August 17, 1870, died November, 27, 1876.
Francis M. Proctor died February 26, 1873. He left an estate of one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land. He was a consistent mem- ber of the Baptist Church and not only left his family a competency, but far better, a Christian example and a worthy life. He was a man highly esteemed, and by his death society lost a useful and honored citizen and the family a kind and loving husband and father. His widow, with the aid of her children, continues to farm the old homestead. She and nearly all the family are active church members.
STEPHEN PULLIAM
Is a native of Garrard county, Kentucky, born April 2, 1825, and a son of William and Elizabeth Pulliam, both natives of Kentucky. He lived in Garrard county till about twenty-six years of age, then moved to Missouri, and located in Lincoln township, Grundy county, where he has since lived and engaged in farming. He was married, May 26, 1853, to Miss Mary Cunningham, a native of Mercer county, Kentucky, born January 26, 1827. She is a daughter of James and Elizabeth Cunningham, the first a native of Kentucky and the last of North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Pulliam have been the parents of six children; named, respectively, James, born Angust 15, 1854; Catherine, born July 13, 1857, now the wife of Benjamin Hossom; William, born October 18, 1859; Elizabeth, born July 3, 1862; Mary, born May 10, 1865; and Ella, born August 15, 1869.
Mr. Pulliam, by hard labor, energy and good management, has secured a
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
fine home of four hundred and seventy-five acres of land, all well improved and stocked. He ranks as one of the leading farmers and stock-raisers in the county.
J. M. ROCK
Was born in Barren county, Kentucky, January 27, 1831, and lived there until 1842, then landed at Lewis Landing, near Glasgow, Missouri. From there he went to Linn county, thence to Macon county, and in 1850 located in Grundy county. His father died in this county, and his mother, now nearly eighty years of age, lives at Modena, this county. Mr. Rock had but little opportunity of obtaining an education, but has been a very suc- cessful man, and owns two hundred and forty acres of well improved land. He was married, Jannary 5, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth Davis. She was born April 23, 1841, and died January 19, 1870. Six children were born of this marriage, two only of whom are now living: Ida May, born January 2, 1868; and Minnie R., born Jannary 10, 1870. They have lost four: James W., born January 6, 1862; Georgia A., born January 5, 1863; Millia O., born August 28, 1865; and Bettie, born February 9, 1867. The family now consists of Mr. Rock, his two daughters, and Mrs. Davis, the mother of Mrs. Rock. She is a sister to Jesse Bain, and one of the party who, November 12, 1837, settled in Lincoln township, and has never lived a mile away from where she first settled. She has been a good mother and kind nurse to many in the neighborhood, and Mr. Rock is blessed in having her as a guardian for his little daughters.
JOSEPH H. ROWOTH
Was born in Lincolnshire, England, December 3, 1841; is the only son of Robert and Ann Rowoth, nee Weldon. His mother died when he was but five weeks old, and he was left without a mother's tender care. He lived in his native place till he was about nine years of age, when his father came to America and settled in Erie county, New York; they lived there four years, then moved to Warren county, Illinois, and remained there two years; in 1857 they came to Missouri and located in Lincoln township, Grundy county. Our subject, then in his seventeenth year, walked from Brunswick with his father and carried all their earthly possessions. This country was then an unbroken wilderness, with very few white settlers, but plenty of wild game, occasionally a panther, and plenty of wolves. Here our sub- ject started to make himself a home, and his father and himself kept "bach" in a log cabin till the beginning of the civil war. Then the love of his adopted conntry induced him to take up arms in her defense, and he en- listed in the renowned Thirty-third Missouri volunteer infantry, and served faithfully and well with them in all the trying and various engagements in which they participated. While he was serving his country and was rejoic-
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ing over the glorious victories of July 4, 1863, news reached him that his aged father had died suddenly, on July 8, 1863.
He was united in marriage, October 21, 1866, to Miss Rebecca E. Scott, a native of Ohio, born December 6, 1847, a daughter of Joseph and Eliza- beth Scott, nee Herbert. Her parents came to Missouri when she was quite young, and settled in Grundy county, where her father died, January 4, 1868. Her mother is still living in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Rowoth have two children; viz., Annie Laurie, born March 6, 1868; and William Walter, born September 21, 1873. Mr. Rowoth is the owner of one hun- dred and twenty acres of well cultivated land. All this he has made by thrift and care, and he stands a living example of what a young man of energy and perseverance can accomplish when he tries. When his father and himself first came to America they worked for a farmer for six dollars per month for two of them. This they did in order to pay borrowed money that they had to get from a fellow countryman to pay their passage. But of such nerve and will has been the subject of this sketch that he lias over- come all obstacles and been successful.
JOSIAH SIBBIT
Was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, May 3, 1846. He is a son of William and Lucinda Sibbit, nee Tuttle, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Pennsylvania. His father died in May, 1851, and his mother in July, 1879. He lived in Fayette county till about six years of age, then with his parents moved to Washington county, Pennsylvania, and lived there four years, and thence to Wayne county, Iowa. In 1867 he moved to Grundy county, and located in Lincoln township, where he has since resided. He learned the blacksmith trade in Corydon, Wayne county, Iowa, and worked at the trade about ten years. He was married October 10, 1866, to Miss Buena Vista Forest, of Muskingum county, Ohio. She was a danghter of John and Mary Forest, nee Hull, and a neice of General Forest. They had two children; viz., Dexter C., born July 27, 1868, who was accidentally killed July 19, 1881, by being thrown from a horse that he was riding while driving stock on his father's premises; and Olive, born February 9, 1870. Mrs. Sibbit died September 10, 1872. Mr. Sibbit mar- ried, February 27, 1873, Miss Harriet E. Roberts, daughter of Abner and Nancy Roberts, nee McDonald. She was born in Marion county, Indiana, March 2, 1852. They have the following named children: Arthur, born December 26. 1873; Charles, born December 15, 1875; Elmer, born Decem- ber 30, 1877; and a babe, born May 27, 1881; and one died in infancy. He owns one hundred and ninety acres of fine land well improved and stocked. He takes a great interest in and devotes much of his time to hor- ticulture, and has an orchard of fourteen hundred fruit trees of choice vari- eties. He is a very energetic business man and a fine mechanic.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
WILLIAM SLATER
Was born in Lincolnshire, England, October 24, 1815. His father and mother were both natives of Lincolnshire, and both died there; his mother, Elizabeth, in 1867, and his father, William, in 1870. Here the subject of our sketch was educated and reared, and lived till thirty-nine years of age, when he emigrated to America. He was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Hull, June 13th, 1838. By this union they have had twelve children, six of whom are still living; viz., Joseph, born March 31, 1845; Mary A., born August 20, 1847; William A., born February 15, 1850; George, born December 23, 1853; Robert B., born April 8, 1856; and Anna, born Octo- ber 6, 1861: Six others died in infancy. When Mr. Slater and wife started from England to America, in 1854, they had four children and were entirely without means, and had to borrow money to bring the family across the ocean, but he was a man of grit and enterprise, and determined to win and to secure for himself and family a home. When he first arrived in Amer- ica he worked for one Simon White seven years and at the end of that time had saved $1,800; he then came to Missouri and purchased a farm in Grundy county of eighty acres of finely located and fertile land; he takes the lead as the best hedge grower in this part of the State. Few men have succeeded so well under such adverse circumstances, and he blesses the day he left Eng- land and secured a home in America.
L. D. SPENCER.
The subject of this sketch, was born in Morgan county, Ohio, January 17, 1850. His father, David Spencer, and Angeline his wife, were both natives of Ohio and are still living there. Mr. Spencer received his education in the common schools of Morgan county, and at the Lebanon Normal School, where he qualified himself for the profession of teacher. When twenty years of age he began teaching in the State of Ohio, and has since followed that profession; he has been very successful and, as the patrons of the schools where he has taught say, he is a model teacher and stands in the front rank, among the leading educators. In 1875 he came to Missouri and located on a farm in Lincoln township. Although owning a farm, he still devotes himself to his chosen profession. He was married to Miss Nannie Hossom. December 21, 1871. She was also a native of Morgan county, Ohio, born August 26, 1854. They have one bright little daughter, named Edna L. Spencer, born August 3, 1880. His home consists of eighty acres of fine land, all accumulated by his own efforts and the aid of his worthy com- panion. They are both consistent members of the Baptist Church.
JONATHAN STONE
Was born in Grayson county, Virginia, April 9, 1818, and is a son of Stephen and Mary Stone; his mother's maiden name being Cherry. He lived in 39
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Virginia till 1833, when his parents came to Howard county, Missouri, and he lived there about twenty years, then removed to Linn and Scotland counties and remained till 1871. In this latter year he moved to Grundy county, where he has since resided. He married Miss Elizabeth J. Schrock, June 24, 1849. She was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, in 1824; her parents were both natives of Virginia, but moved to Missouri in 1845. The parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Stone died in Linn county, Missouri, at a very great age. Ten children have been born to them, eight of whom are still living; viz., James J., at Spanish Fort, Texas; Sarah C., wife of John Reese; Ann S., wife of Arthur Baxter; Margaret A., wife of A. Case; Robert L., living at home; Lucy Belle, wife of C. Smith; Henrietta and Ella, both at home. John W., died in 1876, and Mary E., in 1878. Mr. Stone owns a farm of fifty acres, nicely located.
JAMES T. TRACY
Was born in Garrard county, Kentucky, July 22, 1831, and was reared on a farm and educated at the common schools of that county. He married Miss Nancy Walter on the 28th of May, 1852. She was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, April 26, 1832. In 1852 this young couple came west seeking a home, and located and began life on the same farm now occupied by the family. Here they reared a family of five children; viz., David Andrew Tracy, now owner of the Lindley Mills; Thomas Edward, a farmer in Grundy county; John W., Nathan R., and Burdette, at home; Mary F., Sarah E., Charles W., and one infant, died when young. Mr. Tracy died January 30, 1873; was a member of the Presbyterian Church; left an estate of three hundred and twenty acres of good land, and also a large amount of personal property; was highly esteemed in his life as a public- spirited man. Mrs. Tracy, with the aid of the younger members of the family, carry on farming upon the old homestead, and are esteemed mem- bers of society.
LEONHART TRUMP
Is a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born November 9, 1827. His parents were natives of the same place, but came to America in 1851, and settled in Pickaway county, Ohio. His father died in 1861, and his mother still lives in Ohio. The subject of this sketch received his education in Ger- many, and March 2, 1849, started for America. After his arrival he worked on a farm near Waterville, New York, and from there went to Pickaway county, Ohio, and where he learned the cooper's trade, and lived about six years. He then traveled over Indiana and Illinois for about three years. December 13, 1858, he was united in marriage to Miss Eve E. Klaedar, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, September 27, 1832. Eight children have been the issue of this union; namely, Paulina, born September 8, 1858, now wife of John Voegel; Martin, born January 22, 1860; Leonhart, born
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