USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > The history of Nodaway county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens > Part 73
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A. L. BICKETT,
carpenter, is a native of Marion County, Kentucky, and was born Feb- ruary 13, 1830, being a son of Anthony and Ann (Knott) Bickett. The former was born in Alleghany County, Maryland, in 1783, and the mother, a native of Montgomery County, Indiana, was born in 1791, and died in 1866. With their parents, they moved to Marion County, Kentucky, in 1798, and there they were married in 1812. They settled in that county, where the father died in 1856. Mrs. Bickett, with the family, then came to Nodaway County, Missouri, in 1857, and settled some nine miles northwest of Maryville. A. L. spent his boyhood days in Marion County, Kentucky, and learned the carpenter's trade. He was married August 3, 1853, to Miss Jane Collet, a native of Clay County, Missouri, born May 6, 1831. She died September 15, 1863, leaving three children : Joseph A., Rebecca L. and George W. Mr. Bickett was married the second time to Miss C. Refro, a native of Boone County, Missouri, born March 6, 1847. She died February 17, 1876, leaving five children : Charles L., Minnie J., Terera A., Frederick K., Maud G. Mr. B. married for his third wife, November 30, 1881, Sarah Gillian, a native of Andrew County, Missouri, born March 6, 1840. She was a daughter of John and Eliza (Clark) Gillian, and by this union they have one child : Cecil. Mr. and Mrs. B. are both church members. Mr. B. served some two years as assistant postmaster at Maryville, during the years of 1861 and 1862.
J. M. BLACK,
proprietor of the Arlington Hotel, was born in Bradford County, Penn- sylvania, on the 5th of June, 1830, and was raised in his native place on a farm, until fourteen years of age, when he learned the trade of woolen
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manufacture. Owing to poor health, he was compelled to abandon that occupation, and, for a short time, he taught school, and then for nine years engaged in the nursery business. In 1858, he removed to Ancona, Illinois, and, for five years, was in the drug trade. He then changed his residence to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and engaged in hotel keeping for six years, and continued the same until 1867, when his health compelled him to seek a climate more congenial. In 1867, he came to Maryville, and, in 1868, started a lumber yard, the first in the town. Since that time he has been a resident of the county, excepting when temporarily absent on account of the physical state of himself or family. He was the first to introduce the Poland China stock of hogs in this part of the county, and he has been closely identified with all that pertains to the interest and development of the county. In the capacity of landlord, his experience at Roseberry, and later at the Arlington, over which he now presides, proves his efficiency as a competent and accommodating host, and confirms the old proverb of " the right man in the right place.' Mr. Black was married October 22, 1857, to Miss S. Smiley, of Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Their family consists of five children : Frank L., Jessie E., James C., Charles N. and Howard E.
JOHN BLAIR,
agent for the Singer sewing machines and dealer in organs and pianos, is a son of James and Mary (Wallace) Blair, and was born in Carroll County, Ohio, April 28, 1834, and at the age of four years, he was taken by the family to Logan County, Ohio. His parents were of Scotch- Irish descent, his father being an early settler of Logan County, Ohio. The subject of this sketch was there reared and received his education, and was there engaged in teaching school. In 1857 he went to Dela- ware County, Indiana, and continued the same occupation till 1865, with the exception of three years, when he was connected with a sash and blind manufactory. After this, he emigrated to Shelby County, Ten- nessee, where he was engaged in contracting and building, till IS68, when he made his home in this city, where he has since lived. In 1869, he became the agent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He has done a large business since becoming their agent, selling over 2,000 sewing machines, besides doing a large trade in organs and pianos. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Pittenger, a native of Indiana. She was born, reared, and married within the radius of a mile. They have four children living : Charles A., Effie M., Carl B., and Harry W. Mr. B. is a member of White Cloud Lodge, No. 92, I. O. O. F. They are members of the M. E. Church. Mrs. Blair has conducted for some time a very successful millinery business. On the 29th of September, 1879, she left Kansas City, on the Chicago and Alton Railroad, for St. Louis, and
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on the morning of the 30th the car on which she was riding collided with cars standing on the track at Larrabee Station, Audrian County, and Mrs. B. was severely wounded and taken to Mexico, Missouri. While here, the division superintendent and two lawyers in the employ of the company, effected a pretended compromise for injuries, paying her thirty dollars and taking her receipt in full. Of this transaction Mrs. B. has no knowledge, and after seeking an amicable settlement for inju- ries, etc., no attention was paid to Mr. Blair's claim, and he was forced to seek redress in the courts, and a bill in equity was filed and suit for damages instituted ; also a bill for loss of services and expenses on the part of Mr. Blair. In October, 1881, Mrs. Blair received judgment for $5,000 for injuries, and Mr. Blair obtained judgment for $1,600. Both of these verdicts have been appealed to the Supreme Court. The amount of money awarded is small compensation for suffering and iujured health on the part of Mrs. Blair.
JOHN C. BOSCH,
farmer and stock raiser, section 30, is the son of John G. and Angelica (Long) Bosch, both of Germany, and was born in the city of Ulm, Wur- temburg, Germany, December 14, 1815. He received a common school education, spending his youth at his birthplace, and while a boy he learned the carpenter trade. In 1840 he became superintendent of the waterworks and buildings of the city of Ulm, which position he filled for ten years. In May, 1850, he immigrated to America with his parents, landing at New York, and from there went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained for three months. Mr. Bosch next located in Monroe, Jasper County, Iowa, and for twenty-five years he was engaged in farming in that locality. In the spring of 1875 he came to Missouri, and on the 28th of March settled in this county, where he now has 409 acres of improved land, stocked with thoroughbreds, some being short horn Durham cattle and Poland China hogs. He raises considerable stock, and upon his place are two good orchards, quite a vineyard, and a maple grove. Mr. Bosch was road overseer for two years. He has been twice married : First, in 1836, to Elizabeth Kramer. They had one child, Anna M., born September 28, 1837. She is now married. Mr. B. was married again August 18, 1853, to Sarah Asher, a native of Wayne County, Indiana. Their family consists of : Ery, born January 5, 1854 ; Albert, born April 4, 1856 ; Delilah, (now Mrs. Frank Hart), born April 6, 1859 ; Martin W., born May 19, 1861 ; Emma, born July 16, 1866, and Benjamin, born November 19, 1869. Mr. B. is independent in his polit- ical views. He was born and raised in the Evangelical Association.
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WILHELM BREDENBECK,
farmer and wine grower, was born in Westphalia, Prussia, Germany, on the 24th of September, 1834. His father, Leonard Bredenbeck, was also a native of Germany, and by occupation was a farmer. The maiden name of his mother was Miss Katie Four, and she was born in Germany, also. Wilhelm was reared at his birthplace, receiving the benefits of a common school education. He commenced to learn the baker's trade when fifteen years of age, and followed it while he remained in Germany. He came to the United States in 1857, landed at New York City, and then went to St. Louis, where he remained some time working at his trade. He also made several trips up and down the Mississippi River. From New Orleans he went to Texas and joined the Confederate army, and served under Cornell Duncan at Forts Jackson and St. Philip. He was taken prisoner by Admiral Faragut and paroled. Mr. B. returned to Germany in 1863, and remained until 1868, when he again crossed the ocean, and settled in La Salle County, Illinois. He next went out on the Union Pacific Railroad, when it was in process of construction, and engaged in baking and cooking. After the completion of the road, he came to Missouri, and settled at Weston, Platte County, where he lived some ten months, then coming to Maryville. He resided in that city six years, when he purchased his present farm of fifty acres, adjoining the town of Maryville. He has a neat residence, a young orchard, and some three and a-half acres in vineyard. He owns an excellent wine press, and is largely interested in making wine, keeping a large supply con- stantly on hand. Mr. B. was married on the 6th of March, 1870, to Miss Anna E. Cramer, a native of Germany. They have three children : William, Rosa and Amelia. They are members of the Reformed Pres- byterian Church.
C. W. BRIGGS,
photographer, was born in Conneautville, Crawford County, Pennsyl- vania, August 13, 1838. His father was Isaac Briggs, a native of New York, and by occupation a farmer. His mother's maiden name was Lucretia Field, also a native of New York. The youth of C. W. was: spent in attending school, working on a farm and clerking in a store. He enlisted during the war in company D, Twenty-first Pennsylvania Infantry. In 1866 he moved to Kansas, and in autumn of the same year he came to Nodaway County. He followed teaching penmanship for four years, and in 1867 he engaged in his present business. He was married November 10, 1861, to Miss Carrie Stanton. Mrs. B. was born June 10, 1843, in Ashtabula County, Ohio. At the age of eleven years. she entered Conneaut Academy, where she graduated at the head of her class after nearly five years of hard study and at the age of sixteen.
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She, very early in life, developed a remarkable talent for music, both vocal and instrumental, and during her academical course that talent was brought out by the most skilled vocalists and pianists. In May, 1866, she accompanied her husband to Maryville, where they have since resided. At that time little was known of instrumental music here, though Nodaway County can now boast of as many excellent female musicians as any county in the state. Very much of the musical talent as developed in Nodaway County is due to the patient energy of Mrs. Briggs. She adopted teaching music when she first came to Maryville, and the people learning of her proficiency have kept her busy for nearly sixteen years. The mind, like the diamond in its original state, is crude and unappreciated, but as the skill and utensils of the jeweler removes the external coat and brings to view the latent beauties of the diamond, so the skill of Mrs. B. as a teacher has brought thrilling to the admira- tion of thousands of people the musical talent of many, many young ladies which had before lay dormant, Mrs. Briggs is a great favorite with her sex, and has long been regarded as the finest vocalist in Mary- ville. Her voice is full, mellow and round, and it is not new to hear the remark, "She can sing like a linnet." In all the relations of life, whether as teacher, wife or mother, she is the same modest, dignified lady. The family of Mr. and Mrs. B. consists of two children : Claude, born March 9, 1864, and Lena, born September 3, 1868.
O. L. BRIGGS,
of O. L. Briggs & Co., dealers in hardware, stoves and agricultural implements, is a native of Jefferson County, New York, and was born near Sackett's Harbor, October 5, 1840. When nineteen years of age, his father, L. D. Briggs, removed to Illinois, and located at Waukegan. After residing there six months the subject of this sketch came to Nod- away County, Missouri, and remained some years. In 1861, he went to the Rocky Mountains, and engaged in mining and other pursuits. Returning to Missouri, in 1870, he established his present business. His brother, S. W. Briggs, a prominent stock dealer of this county, is associated with him, and the firm are doing a large trade, and have an enviable standing in the community. Mr. B. was married in February, 1868, to Miss Sallie A. Denning, of Nodaway County. They have a family of four children : George W., Albert H., Edna A. and Pearl. Mr. B. is a Master Mason, and a member of Maryville Lodge, No. 162.
BROWN & MONTGOMERY,
dealers in real estate. This firm was organized in the fall of 1877, and is composed of Thomas H. Brown and R. C. Montgomery. Thomas H.
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Brown was born in Clermont County, Ohio, August 2, 1835. His father, John Brown, was of English origin, and was brought to the United States when quite young. By occupation he was a merchant. His mother's maiden name was Sarah A. Brannan. She was a native of Kentucky. Thomas was reared to manhood at his birthplace, spending his boyhood days in the village of Indian Springs, and receiving his education in the schools of the vicinity. He assisted his father in the store, thereby becoming familiar with the mercantile business, and after attaining a suitable age the business was entrusted entirely to him. In 1858, he moved to Menard County, Illinois, with his mother and broth- ers, his father having died. After remaining there some seven years, engaged in farming, he emigrated west in May, 1866, and settled in Maryville, Missouri, where he began in the real estate business. This he has since followed, and has been satisfactorily successful. He is an active member of Nodaway Lodge, No. 470, A. F. and A. M. of Mary- ville. R. C. Montgomery was born in Halifax County, Virginia, April 13, 1844. His parents were both natives of the same place, his father, John Montgomery, being a farmer by occupation. His mother's maiden name was Mary Ridgeway. R. C. accompanied his parents to Wash- ington County, Indiana, when three years of age, and spent his boyhood days on a farm and received an education in the neighborhood schools. When twenty-one he moved to Montgomery County, Illinois, and remained there some ten years. He was first engaged in the mercan- tile business, and then served four years as deputy county clerk. Emi- grating west in the spring of 1876, he arrived in Maryville on the Ist of February, of that year. Here he commenced in the real estate busi- ness, in which he has since been engaged. He is at present filling his third term as Alderman, and has filled the position of Notary Public some five years. Mr. M. was married December 3, 1875, to Miss Laura M. Kinsley, daughter of M. C. Kinsley, of Hillsboro, Illinois. She was born at that place. They have three children : Mamie, now five years of age ; Frank, now three years of age ; Nellie, aged one year. Mrs. M. is an active member of the M. E. Church of Maryville.
JAMES N. BRYAN,
farmer and stock raiser, section 25, was born on a farm in Highland County, Ohio, July 28, 1847, and is a son of John and Hannah (Warson) Bryan, the former an agriculturist, who was born in Pennsylvania, and the latter a Kentuckian by birth. James passed his youth at his birth- place, obtaining a common school education. When twenty years of age he commenced life on his own account, first working by the month until he had made a start. In March, 1869, he came to Missouri, and located in this county, where he now owns a farm of eighty-five acres.
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He has a fair amount of stock, a young orchard and comfortable resi- dence. On the 5th of March, 1872, Mr. Bryan was married to Miss Florence Morgan, a daughter of A. Morgan, Esq., of Indiana. They have two children : Frank H., born January 8, 1873, and Rosa, born July 15, 1874. Mr. A. is Democratic in politics.
HENRY CLAY BURNETT
was born July 23, 1852, in Warren County, Iowa. His paternal ances- tors trace their origin to Germany. His maternal predecessors are of English extraction. His father was born in Dutchess County, New York, in 1827 ; his mother in Maine, in 1832. Henry, at the early age of three years, came with his parents to Missouri, in 1855, and located in what is now known as Lincoln Township, in the northwestern part of Nodaway County. In the spring of 1860 the family moved to Atchison County, and continued to reside there till the fall of 1864, and then removed to Nodaway County, where he has resided ever since. Although his eyes first opened upon the light in Iowa, he has grown to manhood in the State of Missouri. On December 29, 1878, in the city of Maryville, Henry was united in marriage to Clara E. Weiser, Rev. D. B. Lake officiating. Of this union one child was born, who died in infancy. His wife died on the 23d day of January, 1880. Henry is the son of a miller, who taught him that occupation, which he followed for several years. In the fall of 1873 he taught his first term of school on the spot where he first began his education and the site of the last common school he ever attended. In 1874 he spent a term at the Maryville high school, at that time under the superintendence of B. A. Dunn, now (1881) editor of the Maryville Republican. Alternately from 1874 to 1880 he taught in the common schools of Nodaway County, engaging also in the milling business. In 1876 he went to the Exposition at Philadelphia, and visited New York, Baltimore, Washington and other Eastern cities. On January 1, 1881, he began the study of law in the office of Edwards & Ramsay, in Mary- ville, and was admitted to the bar December 2, 1881, by Judge Henry S. Kelley, and granted a license to practice law in the courts of the state. Hle has permanently located in Maryville, and is now engaged in the practice of law. He is a young man of studious habits, modest and unobtrusive in his manners, and applies himself with great assiduity to the mastery of his chosen profession.
ALLEN J. BURKS,
farmer and stock raiser, section 34, was born on a farm in Mercer County, Kentucky, on the 10th of June, 1814. His father, Allen Burks, a native of Virginia, was by occupation a hatter and a farmer, and lived to the
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age of ninety-three years. His mother, formerly Elizabeth Townsend, was born in South Carolina, near the town of Charleston. Allen spent his boyhood days on a farm, and received the benefits of a common school education. He accompanied his parents to Putnam County, Indiana, in 1828, and remained there until 1839, when he immigrated west, and set- tled near Weston, Platte County, Missouri. After living there for seven years, he returned to Putnam County, Indiana, but came back to Mis- souri in the fall of 1855, and settled in Clarke County ; thence to Han- cock County, Illinois, in the fall of 1865, and from there to Nodaway County, Missouri, in the spring of 1873, locating where he now resides. He owns 174 acres of fine bottom land, upon which is a neat residence, with a fine view of the City of Maryville. His farm is well watered by springs, and stocked with different grades of stock. Mr. Burks is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity. Politically, he is a Greenbacker. He has been twice married. First, about the year 1836, to Miss Elizabeth Chadd. She died in the fall of 1855, and left five children, three of whom are now living : John H., born October 28, 1838 ; David C., born September 27, 1842, and Ruth C., born September 15, 1848, (now Mrs. I. J. Crossen). He was married again on the 15th of May, 1856, to Mary S. Waggner, a native of Clarke County, Mo., born September 6, 1833. By this union they have seven children : Alexander C., born December 8, 1858 ; Martha A., born April 10, 1862; William A., born February 8, 1865 ; Eugene, born November 25, 1866 ; Cassia, born May 12, 1869 ; Robert E. L., born in April, 1871; Ada, born September 1, 1875. Him- self and wife are active members of the Christian Church, of Rose Hill.
JOHN H. BURCH,
farmer and stock raiser, section 26, was born on August 22, 1843, in Greene County, Indiana, being a son of John and Lucy B. Burch. The former, a farmer by occupation, was born in Surry County, North Caro- lina. The latter was a native of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. John H. Burch received a common school education, and in 1855, he left his birthplace, and with his parents moved to Fayette County, Iowa. There he resided until 1866, when he purchased his present farm. It is one of the oldest settled farms in this vicinity, and contains 320 acres, being stocked, and upon it is an orchard and vineyard. In 1862, or when nine- teen years of age, he enlisted in Company A, Thirty-eighth Iowa Infan- try, at Camp Franklin, Dubuque. He is Democratic in politics, and has held the position of school director. Mr. Burch is a member of Noda- way Lodge, No. 347, of Pickering, in which lodge he holds the office of vice grand. He was married November 2, 1862, to Miss Martha Bishop, a daughter of Solomon Bishop. They have seven children : Melissa L., born July 19, 1863 ; James A., born May 23, 1867 ; Abigail and Abner,
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twins, born July 17, 1870 ; Sarah J., born September 11, 1874 ; John S., born May 16, 1876, and Sabitha, born March 23, 1879. Mr. B. com- menced life without means, only having one two year old colt. His mother, nearly eighty years of age, is living with him. She is still hale and hearty, and bids fair to see many more years.
C. H. BUTHERUS,
merchant tailor, is a native of Russia, and was born in the town of Sar- ataw, December 10, 1855. He was educated in his native town, being reared on a farm till fifteen years of age, when he began to learn the tailor's trade, serving as an apprentice four and a-half years. October 27, 1876, he started to America and landed in New York, on December 16th of the same year, He then went to Toledo, Ohio, and from there to Burlington, Iowa, where he worked at his trade for five months, when he located in Red Oak. There he continued his chosen calling for two years and eight months, at the expiration of which time he came to Maryville. Since then he has been carrying on his present business. Mr. B. was married at Red Oak, August 20, 1877, to Miss Katie Myer. She was born in the same town as himself, in 1858, and came to America in the year 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Burtherus have two children, Minnie and Frank.
DR. S. V. CAMPBELL
is a native of Jennings County, Indiana, and was born August 26, 1832. His youth was spent at his birthplace, on a farm, and he was educated at a seminary under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church, Prof. G. Dun- ning, principal. After graduating he read medicine with Dr. James C. Burt, a prominent physician of Vernon, the county seat of Jennings County. He was a native of New Jersey. Mr. Campbell attended lec- tures at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and at St. Louis, and was graduated in 1854. He commenced practicing medicine at Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, and then removed to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, being one of the first physicians to settle at this point. In 1861 he went into the service as First Assistant Surgeon of the Twenty-third Iowa Volunteer Infan- try, and continued in active service until the autumn of 1864, when he resigned. He then returned to Iowa and settled in Dallas County, where he had a large practice. In September, 1879, Dr. C. came to Missouri and located in Maryville, where he has since been engaged in active practice, and has attained to a well merited success. He was married in 1855 to Miss Carrie Davis, of Indiana. They have five children : W. A., J. A., Emma, Burt and Scott.
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CHALES E. CARR,
farmer and stock raiser, section 33, was born in Onandaga County, New York, on the 31st of August, 1833. His father, Daniel Carr, a native of Rhode Island, was by occupation a farmer. His mother was Miss Rhoda Watson, a native of York State. When Charles was two years and a-half old they moved to Cattaraugus County, New York, and settled about fifty miles south of Buffalo. There he was principally raised, spending his boyhood on the farm, and receiving the benefits of a common school education. When sixteen years of age he commenced teaching, and fol- lowed it some three years, when he went to New York City and engaged as clerk in a store. He remained there three years, after which he made a visit to his old home, and then immigrated west to LaSalle County, Illinois. After teaching about six months, he fell a victim to the Cali- fornia gold fever, and started for the new Eldorado. While passing through Southern Iowa the rich land attracted his attraction, and upon inquiry he found it was for sale at Government price ($1.25) per acre. He, therefore, concluded to settle. Borrowing an ax, he marked out his claim, and cut a few poles and started his cabin near the present site of Braddyville. There he made his home until 1867. He made a trip to Idaho in the spring of 1863, and spent seventeen months in the West, then returning to his old home. In 1867 he purchased a piece of unbroken land in Nodaway County, near Clearmont, and in March, 1874, he located where he now resides. His landed estate now consists of 1,000 acres of fine land. He has a handsome residence, some four miles southeast of Maryville, from which a view of the city may be obtained. He also has a large barn, a young orchard, and his farm is well watered and stocked. This is one of the finest and largest stock farms in the county. Mr. C. stands among the old pioneers of Nodaway County, and is widely and favorably known. He commenced life poor, his first team consisting of a yoke of two-year old steers, for which he worked forty days. He is now one of the solid men of Nodaway County. Mr. Carr has been twice married-first in May, 1857, to Miss Mary J. Guthrie. She died on the 15th of May, 1873, leaving six children, five of whom are living : Lewis R., born July 7, 1858; Emma R., born March 7, 1861, (now Mrs. John Whitnack ) ; Albert, born April 19, 1866; Fred, born January 20, 1870; and Charlie C., born August 11, 1871. He was married again on the 23d of March, 1874, to Mrs. Lucy Colburn, a widow with one child, Herbert O. Colburn, born November 9, 1867. Mrs. C. is a mem- ber of the M. E. Church.
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