USA > Missouri > Linn County > The history of Linn county, Missouri. An encyclopedia of useful information > Part 88
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The house of John McKinzie was burned February 10, 1880. The family escaped, but a lot of household goods were lost. The property was insured.
TOWNSHIP BUSINESS.
There are two post-offices in the township, Grantsville, which has a vil- lage attachment of something less than fifty inhabitants, and Bear Branch post-office on the east side for the benefit of that section. On the organi- zation of the township under the new law the first officers elected were William D. Southerland, trustee; L. Smith, clerk; E. C. Spohfield, asses- sor; Abner Moyer, collector; and J. F. Kelly, constable; justices of the peace, A. Nickell, and H. Murchard. The present officers of the town- ship are A. L. Monroe, W. H. Mellon, William Lang, Jeremiah Buchanan, Harrison Fosher, and E. Lyons. The first meeting of the board was at the residence of J. Buchanan.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES -- GRANTSVILLE TOWNSHIP.
WILLIAM LORENZO BAILEY.
Mr. Bailey was born in Louisiana, on the twenty-ninth of September, 1816. He is the eldest son of Peter and Anna (Stanfer) Bailey, of a family of five chil- dren, four sons and one daughter. The father was a native of Fairfax county, Virginia, born July 7, 1785, and died August 30, 1835, in Wash- ington county, Ohio. William's mother was a native of Germany, and came to America in her girlhood.
When William was about fourteen years old, his father, having lost his wife, moved to Washington county, Ohio, taking the subject of this sketch with him. There the father died in 1835, and the son began working at the shoemaker's trade during the winter and farming during summer. On the third day of May, 1840, he was married to Maria Bailey, a lady who was born in Washington county, Ohio, December 22, 1820.
Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have had ten children, named, in order of birth, as follows: Jane A., Julia, Seth H., Peter, Sarah L., William L., Albert, Mar- garet P., Daniel, and John. After his marriage, Mr. Bailey gave his un- divided attention to farming in Washington county, Ohio, till April, 1866, when he moved to Linn county, this State, where he purchased a farm in Grantsville township. Here he has ever since resided. Mr. Bailey is a strong advocate of education, and keeps his family supplied with choice literature.
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
BENEDICT K. BUMGARNER.
Mr. Bumgarner was born in Millsborough, Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, in December, 1835. His father, whose given name was Abraham, was also a native of the same county, and he was married to Rebecca Green, who became the mother of Benedict. The father died when Benedict was about four years old, and the latter was soon afterwards taken charge of by an uncle who reared him. The family of this uncle for some time lived in Lima, Ohio, but, later, moved on a farm near by. Mr. Bumgarner made his home with them till he was about ten years old, when he went to Bridgeport, where he remained two years with a brother-in-law, assisting him in the potter's trade. After this, he was for two years engaged in working on a farm in the county of his birth. A year later, he began learn- ing the trade of wagonmaker, but quit at the expiration of the first year, and went to Putnam county, Illinois, where he again labored on a farm. He then proceeded to La Salle county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming for several years. During his residence there he was married, No- vember 18, 1856, to Miss Mary A. Grave, a native of the same county as- himself. This union has proven a happy one, and has been blessed with eleven children, nine of whom still survive. Their names are: Uriah M., Lavinia E., George K., Emma, Elmer, Lizzie B., Elias C., Rebecca, Joshua,. Minnie, and Frank R. The last named and Elmer are both dead.
The last four years of Mr. Bumgarner's residence in Illinois were spent in Putnam county, he being still engaged in farming. In December, 1867, he moved to Linn county, this State, where he purchased a farm in the township of Grantsville, near the village of that name. After a residence there of nine years, he traded this farm for one which suited him better,. though still in the same township, the latter place being now the home- stead of Mr. Bumgarner and family. He has, by industry and close atten- tion to business, rendered this a comfortable home for his wife and chil- dren. Mr. Bumgarner and lady are both members of the Church of Christ, and are strong in their faith and the love of truth.
JOHN C. BISER.
This gentleman, who came to Linn county in 1855, is a native of Freder- ick county, Maryland, and was there born on the twenty-third day of April, 1816. He is the son of Jacob and Rebecca (nee Cost) Biser; is the young- est of six children. He grew up on the farm where he was born, and there laid the foundation of his education. In 1837 he attended Marshall College in Mercey burg, Pennsylvania, an institution under the control of the German Lutheran Church, and remained about three semesters, there completing his preparatory course. In 1839 he went to Jefferson College in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and entered the sophomore class, already half advanced in that course. He graduated from that institution in 1842, and remained at home
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
for awhile, and shortly afterwards taught the school in the neighborhood where he was raised. After teaching some three or four terms in Mary- land, he came west and taught in the graded schools of Fairfield, Iowa, and subsequently Keosauqua, in the same State. In 1855, he came to Mis- souri, and stopped first at Linneus, in this county, and soon afterwards taught a school near town. Altogether, he taught about two years in Linn county. He clerked about two years in Linneus for Waters, Cove & Co. He began farming in 1860 and has continued it ever since. He bought the farm on which he now resides in 1865, though he did not move on it till 1877. It contains two hundred acres, and is well improved with good frame dwelling, large barn, and other improvements to correspond. It is sit- uated two and a half miles east of Linneus in the edge of Grantsville town- ship. Mr. Biser was married, on the thirteenth of March, 1861, to Mrs. Jane Stephens, widow of John Stephens, who died here in 1860. Her maiden name was Singleton, daughter of John Singleton, deceased, formerly of Kentucky. Mr. Biser has no children, though Mrs. Biser has two sons by her former marriage.
Mr. Biser is a brother of Daniel L. Biser, a prominent Democrat of Maryland, whose name figures conspicuously in political and official cir- cles of that State, he having been several times a member of the legislature, and was one term speaker of the house. William Cost Johnson, deceased, of Maryland, was a cousin of the Bisers. Mr. Biser is a substantial citizen of the county, and though he is an educated gentleman, he has no political aspirations, preferring the quiet of his farm to the excitement of political turmoil. He is, however, a staunch Democrat, and never votes any other ticket.
JEREMIAH BUCHANAN,
was born in the State of Illinois, December 2, 1833. He is a son of Joseph Buchanan, who was born in Kentucky, in 1809, and came to Linn county in 1846; he died in August, 1878. The mother of Jeremiah was Sarah E. (McComb), a native of Tennessee. In 1834, the parents of the subject of this biography removed to Morgan county, this State, where he received his education in the common schools. When he was thirteen years old, his father came to this county, and at the age of nineteen, Jeremiah Bu- chanan began his career as a school teacher, being engaged in that occupa- tion in the intervals of his farm work for some two years.
November 21, 1848, he was married by Rev. Fowler to Miss Catharine Montgomery, who was born in Indiana, November 8, 1834. There have been born to them seven children, five of whom are now living, viz: Mary M., Eliza A., John, Susan E., and George A. Two are dead: Sarah A. and Minnie E. After eighteen months' illness, Mrs. Buchanan died, May 22, 1880. Upon his marriage, Mr. Buchanan settled upon the
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
farm where he now lives, which he had previously purchased. In the spring of 1864 he removed to Iowa and remained about one year and a half, re- turning upon the conclusion of the war troubles in this State. In 1875 he was chosen clerk of Grantsville township, and held the office until it was abolished. He now resides on the home place with his children, amid numerous friends and acquaintances. He is a member of the United Brethren Church, a consistent Christian and a good citizen.
RICHARD S. CLINE.
Mr. Cline was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on the seventh of Feb- ruary, 1838. His parents, Levi and Matilda (Herndon) Cline, are both natives of Kentucky, the former born in 1811, and the latter in 18 -. They emigrated to Shelby county, Illinois, when Richard was about twelve years old, and resided there till 1857, when they removed to Chariton county, this State, where they settled on a farm. Our subject resided there till the spring of 1862, when he was enrolled in the Union service, Company B, of the Second Missouri, with which he served two months. In 1863, he came to Linn county, and was soon after enrolled in Company K, Second Provisional Regiment. While serving with this regiment, he was stationed at different points in Missouri, including Brookfield, Brunswick, and Macon City. Again, in February, 1864, he was transferred to Company L, of the Twelfth Regiment of Missouri Cavalry. He served here about eighteen months. On the twenty-fourth of November, 1864, Mr. Cline was captured at Campbellville, Tennessee, by General Forrest. The Con- federates, being needy themselves, did not hesitate to act on the principle that "to the victors belong the spoils," and consequently robbed him of his clothing. The prisoners were marched to Columbia, Tennessee; retained two months and were then taken to Corinth, Mississippi, where they were held two weeks, and then marched to Andersonville, via Columbus, Merid- ian and Montgomery. They were kept at Andersonville till April, 1865. This prison is known to have been the worst the Confederates had, and many stories of privation and suffering can be told by Mr. Cline, and, in fact, by all soldiers ever held in that prison. On the night of April 17, 1865, a number of prisoners, including Mr. Cline, were taken from the prison to Baldwin, Florida, a distance of sixty-five miles, which the soldier prisoners had to make on foot. Some of them gave out and died from the effects of privation. They were marched to within a few miles of Baldwin, and turned loose in the swamp. They made their way to Jack- sonville, Florida, where Mr. Cline and a few others entered the Union lines. He was soon after sent, with a detachment, to Annapolis, Maryland. Soon after this, they were ordered to St. Louis, where Mr. Cline was hon- orably discharged. Returning to Linn, he was soon engaged by a railroad company to assist in making a survey, and he was thus occupied for a year.
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
He then began grading work for the same road, continuing till about. De -.: cember, 1878. On February 3d, 1867, shortly before he quit railroading, he. was married to Miss Sarah A. Guyer, a lady born in Miller county, this State, on the twelfth of June, 1841. Mr. and Mrs. Cline have been blessed with six children, four of whom still survive. Their names, in order of birth are: William H. (deceased), Elizabeth A., Laura J., Jacob S., Joseph A., and Mary E. (deceased).
Mr. Cline began farming soon after quitting the railroad, and has not ) followed any other calling since that time. Though an invalid, Mr. Cline does what work he can, and is possessed of a neat, comfortable home in Grantsville township. He draws a pension from the government; a justly merited compensation for his lost health, due to his privations in the ser- vice of the Union.
He and his lady are both efficient. members of the Baptist Church, and; are respected by all who know them.
O. H. P. CASE
was born in Portage county, Ohio, September 22, 1826. He is a son of Ariel Case, who was born in Tolland county, Connecticut, in 1780, and died in the summer of 1854, and of Persis Seward, who was born in Mas- sachusetts, about 1786, and died about the year 1874. O. H. P. remained: in Ohio with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age, farming in the summer and attending school in the winter months. When he was twenty-two years of age his father gave him a small farm, on which he worked for two years, making his home with his parents in the meanwhile. In 1850 he was married to Mary Dickinson, of his native county, who died in two and a half years after her marriage; she was the mother of one child, Mary D., who died in infancy. Soon after his wife's death, Mr. Case went to Indiana, and from there to Wisconsin, on a prospecting tour. In the latter State he purchased two hundred acres of land, and returned to his old home. Here he was married, March 28, 1854, to Miss Marilla A. Har- mon, also a native of Portage county, born April 21, 1833. There have been. born to them five children, three of whom are living: viz., Adelbert P.,. Mary Louisa, Almon S., and two dead, Clarence H. and Frank H. Soon af- ter his second marriage, Mr. Case removed to his Wisconsin farm, and en- gaged in farming until 1867, in which year he came to Linn county and. purchased the farm in Grantsville township, on which he now resides. Mr. and Mrs. Case are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and consistent members thereof. Mr. Case is a strong believer in education and is a helper in every good work.
JAMES I. CASSITY
was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, November 1, 1830. His father was William F. Cassity, born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, January, 1803,
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
and removed in January, 1851, to this county. His vocation was that of farmer and blacksmith. He was a well informed gentleman and respected by all who knew him; he held the office of justice of the peace for several years, and after a life of usefulness he died, in January, 1867. The wife of William T. Cassity was Dora Trumbo, born in Bath county, Kentucky, De- cember 21, 1808; she is yet living. James I. Cassity remained in his na- tive county until October 1, 1849, when he removed with his father to Lee county, Iowa, and from there, after raising one crop, to Missouri, in 1851,. the family first settling in Benton township. Mr. Cassity lived with his parents until he was twenty three years of age, when he began work on his own account on a tract of land given him by his father. In March, 1859, he, with four companions, went to Colorado, where Mr. Cassity remained for three months, being engaged in mining. He returned to this county,. and January 15, 1860, was married to Mary R. H. Moore, born in this. county, January 15, 1842; Esq. Paston officiated on the occasion. The is- sue of their marriage has been nine children; viz., Dorothy A., Mary J., Isaac F., James W. H., Sarah L., John I., George H., and Daniel Garfield, living, and Essie B., dead. In 1861 he enrolled as a member of the Union home guards, and served in the Federal militia at intervals during the war. Since 1865 he has given his attention to farming. In 1863 he was consta- ble of his township. By industry and economy he has become the posses- sor of 285 acres of land; is a prosperous farmer, and well respected in his cominunity.
PETER T. FORE.
The subject of this sketch was born in Virginia on the fourteenth of June, 1837. He is the fourth son and fifth child of P. M. and Sarah (Galoway) Fore, both natives of Virginia, who were married in that State and had a family of eight children. The mother was born in 1806, and died Decem- ber 25, 1871. The father was born October 11, 1796, and is still living in his declining years in Grantsville township, Linn county. Peter was still an infant when his parents emigrated to Missouri and settled in this county, in the township above mentioned. He acquired his education in Linn county, working on the farm in summer, and attending school in win- ter, and remained with his parents till he was about sixteen years old. In the spring of 1853, Mr. Fore made a trip to California, where he spent about nine years, during which time he was engaged in stock-herding, min- ing and running a butcher's stand. Returning to his Missouri home in 1859, he gave his attention to farming and stock-raising.
Mr. Fore was united in marriage, by Rev. A. Martin, December 11, 1862, with Miss Mildred E. Brown, a native of Linn county, and a daughter of Thirza Brown.
Mrs. Fore's father was born in Howard county, this State, September 25,
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
1821, and settled in Grantsville township, Linn county, in February, 1842. He was married to Thirza Jones on the eighteenth of February, 1841. The. latter was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, August 27, 1823. Mr. Brown died August 24, 1881.
After his marriage, Mr. Fore devoted himself to farming and the stock business, and in the year 1864, made a trip to Utah with a drove of cattle. Mr. and Mrs. Fore are the parents of eleven children, eight of whom still survive. Their names are here given in order of birth: Florence, Anna, Olive, Cella R., Littleton, Thomas P., Thirza, Henry, Alla, James, and Ma- bel. The first three of these children are dead.
Mr. Fore owns a good farm of two hundred and forty acres of fine land in Grantsville township. He is industrious, energetic, and persevering, and few men manage their farms more successfully than Peter T. Fore.
THOMAS J. GUYER.
Mr. Guyer is a native of Missouri, and was born in Miller county, May 31, 1845. His father, Mr. Henry D. Guyer, is a native of Kentucky, the date of his birth being May 10, 1818. The mother of our subject bore the name of Elizabeth McComb, before she was married to the elder Guyer. She was born in Tennessee, October 4, 1818, and died, December, 1873. When Thomas was one year old his parents moved from Miller to Linn county, and settled in Grantsville township. Mr. Guyer was reared on the farm, working thereon in the summer and attending school during the win- ter months.
In the war of the Rebellion his sympathies were with the Union cause, and he enrolled, in the spring of 1863, in the Home Guard Militia, serving one year and a half. In July, 1864, he enrolled in company A, of the Forty- second Missouri Volunteers, a regiment of infantry, his company being commanded by Captain William H. Lewis. He was on duty as a good sol- dier till he was honorably discharged in August, 1865, when he returned to his home in Linn county. Soon afterwards he bought a farm in Grantsville township near his old home, and worked it for three years, making his home with his parents at their homestead. In 1871 Mr. Guyer was married to Miss Jane Hague, who was born in Athens county, Ohio, on the eighth of March, 1840. Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Guyer took his bride to his farm, where they have ever since resided, he giving his attention to agricul- tural pursuits. Besides what he produces from his own farm, Mr. Guyer engages in buying and shipping live-stock, and has visited, as a stock dealer, the States of Iowa and Arkansas.
. Mr. and Mrs. Guyer have had six children, five of whom are still living. The names of their offspring are as follows: Reuben H., Charles E., Thomas L., Allie M., Elbert H. (deceased), and Sarah J. Mr. Guyer is a strong ad- vocate of truth and liberty, and is every way a good citizen.
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
JOHN H. GUYER
was born in Miller county, Missouri, on the third of April, 1843. He is the eldest of a family of nine children, and is a son of Mr. Henry D. Guyer, whose biography is published elsewhere in this work. Our subject came to Linn county, this State, with his father when the former was but five years old, and was reared on the old Guyer farm in Grantsville town- ship. He obtained his education in the schools of the county, which he attended during the winter season, while living with his parents. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Guyer enlisted in Company A of the Forty-second Regi- ment of Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and served till June 28, 1865, when he returned to his home in Linn county. He was married on the seven- teenth day of June, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Fosher, a native of Buchanan county, Missouri, and born January 6, 1846. Their wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. Hustead. Seven children have been born of this union, six of whom are still living. Their names are: Walter E., Cora E., Henry A., Jennie C., Charles R., Elizabeth C., and John W. Mr. Guyer owns a fine farm of six hundred acres in Grantsville township, and has it well improved with good residence, barn and out-buildings, and it is well supplied with live stock. He is an industrious, useful member of society, and both himself and wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
HENRY D. GUYER. .
Mr. Guyer is a native of Madison county, Kentucky, where he was born May 10, 1818. He is a son of John and Ellen (Hill) Guyer, the former born in Virginia in 1793, dying March 31, 1854; the latter was born in Stokes county, North Carolina, in 1792, and died October 26, 1842. The subject of this sketch remained in Kentucky until 1834, when he accompa- nied his father's family to Cooper county, Missouri, where they remained until the following year, when they came to where Linn county now lies, the county not then having been organized. Mr. Guyer's father at first settled in the southeastern part of the county, near where St. Catharine now stands; where Henry D. remained for three years and then returned to Cooper county and lived with his uncle for eighteen months, during which period he attended school a part of the time and worked for his sup- port the remainder. He then went to Miller county, where he worked for bis brother in-law for twelve months. September 17, 1841, he was mar- ried to Elizabeth A. McComb, who was born in Tennessee, October 4, 1818. The marriage service was performed by J. T. Davis. Mrs. Guyer's father, Jacob M. McComb, was born in Ireland about the year 1772, and died in Texas in 1866. He was a teacher by profession. Her mother was Sarah Evans, born in Georgia, and who died in 1846. After his marriage Mr. Guyer continued to reside in Miller county for about five years. In 1845
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
he came to this county, purchased and settled on the farmn where he now lives, in Grantsville township. Mr. and Mrs. Guyer had born to them. nine children, all of whom are still living. Mrs. Guyer died December 18, 1873, after a lingering illness of some twelve months. She was a consist- ent member of the Baptist Church and died in the hope of a blissful im- mortality in the world beyond the tomb. November 17th, 1874, Mr. Guyer married Nancy Cotton, a sister of his first wife, and a native of Tennessee .. In 1861, when the civil war broke out, Mr. Guyer enrolled in the Missouri Militia, and was on duty at intervals for about two years. He is a member of the Baptist Church. By his own exertions he has become a prosperous. farmer and the possessor of a fair competence of this world's goods. His- children are: Sarah A., born June 21, 1841; John H., born April 3, 1343; Thomas J., born May 31, 1845; Margaret J .; born August 17, 1847 ;. Jacob M., born June 24, 1849; Eliza C., born September 12, 1853; James L., born March 18, 1855; Mary E., born February 19, 1848; and William H., born December 11, 1861. Four sons and two daughters are married.
REUBEN R. HAGUE.
This gentleman was born in Athens county, Ohio, January 9, 1835. His. father's name was Reuben Hague, Sr., and he was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1794. He at one time lived ten years in Linn county, Missouri,. but went to California, where he still resides at an advanced age. Reuben,. Jr., was reared on a farm. In 1856, on the twenty-first of August, he was. married to Jane Patterson, who was a native of Morgan county, Ohio, and born March 25, 1838. This proved a congenial union, and they have been blessed with six children, all of whom still survive. Their names and dates of birth are as follows: Doctor C., born January 9, 1858; Charles- A., born August 23, 1860; Julia, born January 7, 1864; Jacob, born March 10, 1867; Sarah, born June 8, 1869; Lucy, born November 18, 1874 ..
In the fall of 1856 Mr. Hague came to this county and lived in Grants- ville township till 1861, when he went to Iowa, and, after a temporary stay,. proceeded to La Salle county, Illinois. He only remained six months,. when, concluding Linn county, Missouri, was the best place for him, he. returned to Grantsville township and there settled on a farm, where he has. since resided. His value as a successful farmer and good citizen is duly appreciated by all who know him.
SMITH E. HUBBARD
is a native Missourian, and was born in Sullivan county on the eighteenth of October, 1842. He is the son of James and Elizabeth (Reece) Hubbard, the father being a Kentuckian, who was born in 1803. While Smith was but a boy his parents moved to Saline county, Missouri, where they lived one year, and then returned to Sullivan county. Both the parents died
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