USA > Missouri > Pike County > The history of Pike County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 12
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William F. Oglesby, farmer, post-office Clarksville, is a native of Vir- ginia, born in Bedford county, August 7, 1832; there he was raised and educated until he was seventeen years old, when he came to Missouri, first stopping in Warren county, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Pike county and was employed as overseer for some years, after which he was engaged in the manufacture of tobacco for one year, and then engaged in farming. He was married in 1860 to Miss Mary M. Goodman, daughter of Mr. S. Goodman. She died Angust 26, 1881, leaving eight children, four boys and four girls. Mr. Oglesby was elected sheriff of Pike county in No- vember, 1874, and re-elected in 1876. Hlis farm consists of sixty acres, most of which is planted with choice fruit. His apple orchard is composed of the choicest varieties. Mr. Oglesby is a member of the Methodist Church South and of the Masonic fraternity.
Cleaver A. Patterson, farmer, post-office Clarksville, is a native of Pike county, born on the fifth day of March, 1828. His father, William V. Pat- terson was also a native of Missouri, born in St. Louis county, February 14, 1807. William Patterson, the grandfather of our subject was originally from Kentucky in about the year 1803, and came to Pike county in 1818, St. Louis being at that time a small French village, and settled in what is
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now known as the Dows neighborhood, where the father of our subject still lives. The mother of our subject was Susan Calaway, danghter of Zacha- riah Calaway, of Lincoln county, Missouri, of which county she is a native. Cleaver A. is the oldest son of his father's family. He was reared and edu- cated in Pike county, and commenced business for himself when he was twenty-two years of age. Ilis first venture was building a steam mill which he operated for a while. In 1832 he married Miss Mildred A. Woods, daughter of William Woods. They have one son, Lemuel, who is now cn- gaged in teaching school. Since 1872 Mr. Patterson has turned his atten- tion to farming. In the fall season he has run a threshing machine for a period of thirty-one years. He and his wife and son are all members of the Baptist Church. Mr. P.'s grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and was present and saw Lord Cornwallis hand his sword to General Washington. Mr. Patterson has a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres of choice land, all under a high state of cultivation, with a fine, large two-story resi- dence, built in 1878.
Thomas D. Patton (deceased), was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, October 14, 1803, and immigrated to Pike county, Missouri, in the year 1824; after residing near Ramsey Creek for a time on a farm, he started a tannery near Gwyn's Creek, where he remained about two years; then moved his taunery to Paynesville; this being the first manufacturing enter -. prise in that part of the county. About the year 1834 he purchased the farin one mile east of Paynesville which has for many years been known as the Patton homestead, and followed assiduously the avocation of a farmer until the year 1867, when he removed to the town of Paynesville, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 6th day of June, 1879. Mr. Patton was united in marriage to Julia A. Watts, daughter of Major John Watts, April 14, 1825, and from this union were born thir- teen children, twelve of whom lived to be men and women, and seven of them still survive; viz., Elizabeth, Thomas W., James II., Francis W., Ben- jamin G., Jos A., and Julia. Thomas Patton was, as has been noticed, one of the early settlers of Pike county, and as a pioneer contributed very largely to the development of the material interests of his adopted home. He was physically. a man of great personal strength and courage, and intellectually, although not posessed of a finished or scholarly education, possessed great practical common sense and unusual native mental vigor. In his chosen avocation, that of a farmer, he was highly successful and used his accumu- lated wealth to the best advantage in surrounding himself and family with all the substantial comforts of life, and giving to his children the advanta-
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ges of a good and thorough practical English education. Besides caring for those of his own household he was not unmindful of the wants of others, and his nnostentatious generosity contributed to relieve the necessities of many. Upright in his dealings with his fellow men, charitable to the weak- ness of others, generous to the deserving poor, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, he received, as he deserved. the considerate respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. Since 1833 Mr. Patton was a consistent member of the Christian Church, and contributed largely, both by his per- sonal influence and the generous donations of his liberal means, to the sup- port of his church and the advancement of the Christian and moral influence of the community of which he was so long a member.
Thomas Washington Patton, farmer. post-office Paynesville, is the el- der son of Thomas D. and Julia A. Patton; was born in Pike county, August 4, 1834. In his youth he received a liberal common school education; on reaching his majority he began farming on his own responsibility. In con- nection with his farming pursuits he dealt largely in live stock, in which business he has since been engaged. Ile has a fine farm of 450 acres of it- proved land, under a high state of cultivation, which is admirably adapted to the growing of grain and stock. Mr. Patton was united in marriage on the 24th day of March, 1859, to Miss Fanny A., daughter of Samuel Giv- ens, one of the first settlers of Pike county. They are the parents of eight children, of whom five are still living; viz., Annie A., Lizzie, Jennie, Lon, and Homer. Mr. Patton moved his family to Paynesville in 1881, in order to give his children the advantage of the superior schools at that place. He and his wife are consistent members of the Christian Church.
Mrs. Nancy J. Pitzer, Clarksville. This lady is a native of Pike county, born December 23, 1821, and was the daughter of John W. Griffith, who was originally from Kentucky, moving to Missouri in 1816. Her father was married in March, 1818, to Anna Mackey, daughter of Thomas J. Mackey, who was of Scotch ancestry. This lady, our subject, was married in 1841 to Alfred Pitzer, Esq .; he was a Virginian by birth. Mr. P. died Septem- ber 2, 1879. They had two children, one deceased in infancy, and Wm. H., boru in August, 1842, and died April 27, 1878. He was a Royal Areh Mason.
John Rodgers (deceased), was a native of Virginia, born in Mason county, in 1792. When a young man he went to Kentucky, where he married Miss May Montgomery in January, 1817, and immigrated to Missouri in the fall of the same year; stopped at St. Louis one year and then came to Pike county and purchased the farin where he continued to live until his death. During his
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life he accumulated a large amount of property, in the use of which he was always liberal and generous. Hle was a man of strong will, and great decision of character. He died October 30, 1SS2. His wife died in January, 1877. They left one son, John M. Mr. Rogers, Sr., was married a second time to Mrs. May E. Moody, of Columbia, Missouri, and by this union they had one child, born December 24, 1880, when the father was eighty-nine years of age.
John M. Rodgers, post-office Paynesville, was born in Pike county, on the old homestead, August 17, 1835. He was educated at the State Uni- versity at Columbia, Missouri. He engaged in teaching two years, then in merchandising four years, and since that has been engaged in the stock bus- iness. He was married in 1862 to Miss May C., daughter of Samnel M. and May R. Denny. They have seven children, three sons and four daughters: May Elizabeth Charles M., Lou D., James Thomas, Jennie, Naomi, and Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers are both members of the Christian Church.
Henry Schosler was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, July 25, 1799. Hle is the son of Benjamin and Martha (Foster) Schooler. They were both natives of Virginia. They were married there and moved to Kentucky in 1817. Benjamin Schooler died there, October 23, 1822. Mrs. Schooler came to Pike county, Missouri, in 1828, and died here in 1843, in her seventy-ninth year. Henry Schooler was married in Bourbon county, Kentucky, March 14, 1522, to Miss Susanna Boggess. By this union there were three children, Catharine B., Elizabeth T., and William Henry. Mr. Schooler learned the carpenter's trade in Kentucky in ISIS; he worked at his trade and farming all his life, until a few years ago, when he retired from active business. His wife died December 10, 1876. She was a member of the Baptist Church. They had lived together over fifty- four years. Mr. Schooler now makes his home with his daughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. James W. Stark, of Clarksville.
William Henry Schooler, post-office Caltimet, is a native of Pike county, born October 10, 1840, and is the only son of Henry and Susan Schooler. Mr. Schooler still resides on the farm on which he was born, and which has been im- proved since 1828, his father having purchased it of William Biggs. Mr. S. is one of the enterprising farmers of Calumet township, having four hun- dred aeres where he lives, besides the old homestead of one hundred acres, and three thousand acres of land in Texas. Mr. S. deals largely in stock, especially in cattle and hogs. He was married Jannary 25, 1874, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Samnel Sly, who came to this county in 1819. She was born in St. Charles City. Her mother was born in Bourbon county, Ken-
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tucky, came west in 181S and is still living. Her father was a soldier in the War of 1812, in Shelby's Division. Mr. and Mrs. Schooler have three children, a boy and two girls: Harvey W., Susiana, and Katie F. Mr. S. was appointed postmaster in 1872 by President Grant; he was also elected register and served two years. He owns a good dwelling and business house in Carksville. He has in his possession the steelyards owned by Nelly Boggess, of Londen county, Virginia, once borrowed by General Washing- ton to weigh some beef for a tenant; they were originally brought from Ireland by the ancestors of the family.
Jairus A. Shaw, farmer, post-office Clarksville, is a native of Pike county, born June 15, 1835. His father, William B. Shaw, was by birth a Virginian; he immigrated to Pike county in 1832, and settled near Rock- ford, where he died in 1836. The mother ( Martha Webb), a native of the same state, died in 1869, leaving two children: James A , who died in 1850, and our subject who was raised on the farin. He has always given much at- tention to stock, particularly Chester White hogs. ITis farm contains one hun- dred and sixty acres of choice land, situated four miles southwest of Clarks- ville, finely improved, and managed after the most approved manner. He was married in Lincoln county, Missouri, in 1856, to Miss Sue Morris, daughter of R. Morris, Esq. They have eight children: Mollie A., James W., Hunnil L., Margaret E., Charley M., Edward A., George H., and John M. Mr. Shaw is a Master Mason and a member of the A. O. U. W. He has been depaty assessor, serving four years. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw are both members of the Christian Church.
Austin T. Smith, farmer, is a native of Pike county, and was born on the 28th day of September, 1854. His father, Robert Y. Smith, was a na- tive of Virginia, and came to Missouri, traveling all the way on horseback, arriving in the state about the year 1828, and went to work for his uncle, John Smith, by the month. He was married to Miss Mary J. Smith, of this county. They had six children, all dead except Austin T., our subject. The father died July 25, 18 -; the mother died January 4, 1874. Our sub- ject was reared and educated on the farm on which he lives at present. His farm contains 128 acres, most of which is cultivated. It was opened out by Robert Y. Smith, and was the first piece of land purchased, on which he spent his best days. The farm is well adapted to the culture of wheat, corn, and grass. He raises stock in considerable quantities. Mr. Smith was married in April, 1877, to Miss Eliza L. Stark, daughter of John W. Stark. She was born in Calumet township. By this union they have three children, two girls and one boy: Gussie L., May E., and Robert Y., Jr.
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John R. Smith, farmer, post-office Clarksville. This gentleman was born in Pike county, Missouri, January 3, 1841; his father, Co !. C. Smith, was a Virginian by birth; immigrated to Missouri in 1839, first settling on a farm some eight miles west of Clarksville, where he lived until his death in July, 1845. The mother of our subject was also a native of Virginia; her maiden name was Mary J. Tinsley. She died in 1873. John R. was raised on a farm, and farming is his present business; he received his educa- tion in the common schools. He has been engaged in the business of herding young stock. In 1868 he was united in marriage to Miss Kate Griffith, daughter of Noah Griffith, one of the early settlers. Mr. Smith has two farms, one containing two hundred and eighty-three aeres, all under culti- vation; the homestead contains forty-two acres; bis residence is a fine two- story building, elegantly finished and furnished, situated in a beautiful lo- cation, commanding a fine view of surrounding country. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three children: Clarence G., Nina E., and Noah R., and they are both worthy members of the Baptist Church, in which he holds the office of deacon.
Robert MeDannold Smith, Annada, was born in Linchburg, Virginia, January 11, 1848. He was here reared and educated. In the year of 1868 he immigrated to Boone county, Missouri, where he remained one and a half years, when he came to Pike county, where he remained about two years, following the avocation of farming; he then went to Texas and en- gaged in the mercantile business, which he followed with good success for nine years. He was married in Ft. Worth, Texas, January 11, 1876, to Miss Emma Knight, a native of California. By this union were born two sous and one daughter: Virginia, Ambrose L., and George C. In 1878 he returned to Pike county, where he engaged in the mercantile business at An- nada, at which place he continued until 1882. It was here he invented a patent car wheel, which is known as Smith's safety car wheel, and is a great success.
P. K. Spencer. This gentleman is a native of Missouri, and was born the 27th day of April, 1842. Nathaniel Spencer, his father, is by birth a Virgin- ian. He came to Missouri in an early day, settling in Monitor county, where he continued to reside until 1872, when he removed to this connty, where he is now living on a farm adjoining the one owned by our subject, and is in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Our subject's mother is also living, and is in her sixty-sixth year, in the full enjoyment of all her facultics. P. K. Spencer, onr subject, spent his youth on a farin, early acquiring habits of industry, and has made farming his principal business, but has for the
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last six or seven years run a threshing machine. At the outbreak of our civil war Mr. Spencer entered the Confederate army, and served eighteen months, when he was cut off from his regiment, and was captured and taken to St. Louis, where he was confined in Gricert street prison, formerly known and ocenpied as MeDowell's College. Here he was kept some four months, when he was taken to Illinois to the Alton prison, in which place he was held twelve months, when he took the oath and was released, when he went to Warren county, this state. In 1864 he came to Pike county and engaged to work for Alvin Tinsley for one year. He then married Miss Victoria Ogden, of this county, and moved to Mr. Ogden's farm, where he remained some five years, when he purchased his present farm, consisting of 222 acres, and moved to it, where he has a comfortable house and good out-buildings. Mr. S. has an interesting family of three girls and three boys. Mr. S. is a Mason, and a member of Lodge No. 17. He and his worthy wife are both members of the M. E. Church South.
John E. Stonebraker, M. D., farmer, post-office Clarksville, has a splen- did farm of three hundred acres of choice land, in a fine state of enltivation, with first-class improvements. His residence is a substantially built two- story brick, containing fourteen rooms, built in IS59, at a cost of $10,000, by Washington Wallis. Mr. S. is a native of Maryland, born in 1847, near Hagerstown. He came to Missouri with his parents in 1859, and settled in St. Charles county, where he lived until 1869, when he moved to Lincoln county. In 1375 he moved to his present home, since which time he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. JIe was educated at Westminster College; commenced the study of medicine in 1866, attending the lectures at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Returning from school he engaged in merchan- dising for some two years, and then turned his attention to farming. Mr. S. was married in 1869 to Miss Alice Robbins, daughter of T. J. and Eliza- beth E. Robbins, of St. Charles county, Missouri. Mr. S. takes great inter- est in Short-Horn cattle and Cotswold sheep, and is one of the most suc- cessful wheat growers in the country, having raised some 2,500 bushels in 1881; he introduced the celebrated Blunt's drill, which has proved itself as being the best in use. Mr. and Mrs. S. are both members of the Episcopal Church. They have one son living, Robert Edmund Lee.
Abram Milton Thomas, farmer and stock-raiser; post-office Paynes- ville. The subject of this sketch was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, on the 20th day of February, 1807, and moved with his parents to Pike county, Missouri, in the fall of 1819, and settled just north of Gwyn's Creek, almost opposite the town site of Smith's Mills. After residing there
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until near the elose of the year 1836 he removed to the Mississippi River. where he kept a store and wood yard, from the latter of which he supplied the boats which at that carly day plied up and down the river. Mr. Thomas was also a farmer, owning at that time about 3,000 acres of land; and, dur- ing almost all the time of his residence there he served as justice of the peace, having been first appointed by the county court, and afterwards, for many years in succession, chosen by the people. For the benefit of him- self, and the many hands in his employ, a political division of the county, known as Mississippi township, was laid off, and for a long time he held the balance of power between the then two almost equally divided parties. Mr. Thomas has resided in Lincoln county since 1851, nutil four . years ago, when he again returned to Pike county, and settled within a few miles of his first home in Missouri. Our subject was first married to Lucinda Mandy, in May, 1833, and from this union were three children, of whom one is supposed to be still living. After the decease of his wife he was again married, in 1865, to Mrs. Missouri T. Armstrong, the widow of the late Dr. Armstrong, of Lincoln connty, Missouri, and by this union were born five daughters, of whom four are still living: Mary J., Melinda, Sallie. and Elizabeth. The subject of this sketch has been a consistent member of the Christian Church for almost forty years. Mr. T., although seventy-five years of age, is a man of remarkable physical vigor, and, excepting his hear- ing, which is but slightly impaired, retains in a large measure the vigor of his bodily faculties, and the full possession of all his mental powers. ITis father, Jolin Thomas, died a few months after his settlement in Missouri, and his mother, whose maiden name was Melinda Williams, some years thereafter.
Jason Tillitt, farmer, post-office Calumet, was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1814. His father, Jiles Tillitt, who was also a native of Ken- tucky, immigrated to Missouri in the fall of 1S18, and settled four miles south of Bowling Green, where he continued to reside until his death in 1821. His wife's maiden name was Mary Wiginton; she died in 1857. Our subject, Jason T., was raised on the farm. His father dying when he was quite young he continued to live with his mother until her death in 1857, following the occupation of a farmer. He was married in 1863 to Miss Caroline, daughter of William and Ellen Browning, who were origi- nally from Ohio. They have five children living: Mary M. (now Mrs. Phillis), Katie May, William J., Mirtie B., and Etta L. Mr. Tillitt's pres- ent farm contains two hundred and forty acres of choice land, the most of which is in cultivation. Mr. T. was, and is in principle, an old line Whig,
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but in later years has voted with the Democrats. Mrs. T. and Mary M. are members of the Baptist Church.
John Treadway, farmer and stock-raiser, post-office Paynesville, was born in Pike county, Missouri, July 27, 1836. He is a son of Washington Treadway and a grandson of Ruben MeDannold, who were among the pio- neers of the county. Our subject lived with his parents until their death. He was married February 22, 1860, to Miss Bettie A. Coon, of Ralls county. By this union they have had four children, three of whom still survive: Oh- lie II., William W., and Major W. He is a member of the Baptist Church and his wife is a member of the Christian Church.
Andrew Turner, farmer, post-office Clarksville. This gentleman is the son of John Turner, and was born November 15, 1831. Ilis father, John Turner, was a native of Maryland, and immigrated to Missouri in 1$11, and settled on land now used as the Louisiana fair grounds. During the Indian troubles they were driven into the fort. While they were in Fort Buffalo two of the Jordans were killed by the Indians. After leaving the fort they went to St. Louis where they remained until 1818, when they returned to Pike and settled on the farm where our subject now lives. Mr. Turner followed the avocation of a farmer, and continued to reside on the farm until his death in 1856. They raised a family of two sons and five danghters. An- drew Turner, the subject of our sketch, now has charge of the old home- stead, which consists of 160 acres. The residence was erected in 1870. IIe is one of the enterprising young men of the neighborhood.
Judge Peter Taliaferro Vaughan, post-office Paynesville, is a native of Virginia, born in Nelson county on the 4th day of August, 1809, about seven iniles from Lovingston, the county scat of Nelson county. He moved to Missouri with his father in the fall of 1831 and settled on a farm still known as the old Capt. Vaughan homestead, near the village of Paynes- ville. After living with his parents for three years, Judge Vaughan re- moved to the farm upon which he still resides. Judge Vanghan was mar- ried in 1834 to Mary L. Jeans, and from this union there were eight chil- dren, of whom six still survive. Judge Vaughan has devoted his energies to farming, but has found time to serve the people of Pike in some of the most responsible positions of life, having served as county judge from 1854 to 1858, and again re-elected in the last named year, and served four years, and until the commencement of the civil war. Judge Vaughan was chosen to represent the eastern district of Pike county in the General Assembly in the year 1876, and served them ably and acceptably for the term of two years. The subject of our sketch is a communicant of the Christian Church,
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of which organization he has been a member since 1842. Ile was long a member of the Masonic order, and holds a demit from Clarksville Lodge No. 17. He has a farm of 300 acres, having given to his children a like amount. He has a large, comfortable house, well situated, and convenient to churches and fine roads, etc.
James H. Wamsley, farmer, post-office Clarksville. This gentleman is a native of Pike county, Missouri, born on the 4th day of May, 1827. IIis father, John Wamsley, was a Virginian by birth, and when a young man came to Missouri, at an early day. He was married to Salina Jordan. John Wamsley first settled some two miles southwest of Louisiana on a farm, where he lived the greater part of his life, and continued to reside in Calumet township until his death in 1851, the mother dying in 1844. They reared a family of eight children, five of whom are still living. The subject of our sketch, James H. Wamsley, was raised and educated in this county where he has grown to manhood, engaged in farming, which is his present business. He has been a stock breeder to a considerable extent. He was married on January 24, 1855, to Margaret E. Butts, daughter of Wil- son and Eliza Butts, of this county. By this union they have eight chil- dren, all living, three of whom are married men. Mr. Wamsley's farm consists of 175 acres of choice land. He has a large two-story frame house, and good ont-buildings. Mr. Wamsley and all the eight children are con- sistent members of the C. P. Church. Mr. Wamsley devotes much time and attention to the breeding of fine horses; in cattle he raises a graded stock.
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