USA > Missouri > Pike County > The history of Pike County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 35
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tween two and three years he was engaged in lead mining near Galena, Il- linois, going there in 1846. In 1850 he went to California in company with MePike and Strother, where he remained for about four years, engaged in mining, in which business he was fairly successful. He returned home in 1855, when, in company with Mr. Sisson, he built a saw and grist-mill on Cuivre River. He was engaged here but one year, when he sold out and went into the stock business, and for some three years he bought and sold upon a large scale. In 1859 he bought his present home, a place contain- ing fifty-eight acres, which he has since finely improved. He was married January 22, 1860, to Miss Virginia . Morris, daughter of John T. and Emily A. Morris, of this county, but formerly of Virginia. Mr. Barbee is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and his wife of the M. E. Church South.
Frank C. Barnett. This gentleman is the son of Robert Barnett, a na- tive of Kentucky, who came to Missouri in 1880 and died in 1837. Our subject was born in Pike county, Missouri, April 18, 1831, on the same farm upon which he at this time resides, having lived here for a period of almost fifty-two years. He spent his youth at work upon this farm, his vigorous manhood was devoted to its cultivation and improvement, and his deelining years are being spent upon it. Mr. Barnett was first married December 13, 1854, to Miss Margaret M. Barnett, daughter of Robert Bar- nett, Jr., a pioneer well known in this county and for a long time a man of considerable local prominence. From this union there were two children, both sons, Charles and Robert. Mr. Barnett lost his wife in 1859 and was married the second time, November 29, 1864, to Sallie H. Barnett, sister of his first wife. This union has been blessed with two children, one son, Frank, and one daughter, Fanny, the latter now dead. Mr. Barnett has a farm of 185 acres, well adapted to the cultivation of grain and the raising of stock, to which pursuits he directs his attention. He also has a farm of 230 acres of land in Andrain county, about three and a half miles from the growing little town of Vandalia. Mr. Barnett has long been identified with the growth and prosperity of Pike county, and is recognized as one of its best and most enterprising citizens.
C. R. Barnett. This gentleman, the son of Charles and Catharine M. Barnett, is a native of Virginia, and was born in Bedford county on June 1, 1844. At the age of twenty-one he came to Missouri and located at Louisiana, where for five years he was engaged in the business of the con- fectioner. In August. 1881. he moved to Ashley and went into the livery business, in which avocation he continues at this time. His genial manners
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and fair dealing have won for him a good name and a liberal patronage. He was married February 10, 1875, to Miss M. E. Williams, daughter of Mr. James Williams, of this county. They have four children: Letha, Ka- tie and Ella, twins, and Gertrude. Mr. Barnett is a clever gentleman and a deserving and worthy citizen.
P. B. Bell. the son of Jolm T. and Grace (Luckey) Bell. is a native of Lincoln county, Kentucky, where he was born October 12, 1812. Mr. Bell was reared in Stanford county and received but a limited school education. though he became, when bat a young man, well acquainted with men and things. When but fourteen years old he entered the store of J. B. and M. Camden, where he worked some four years and acquired that knowledge of business which has proven of such large advantage in his subsequent life. On the 12th day of October, 1830, he came to Pike county and settled near the town of Ashley, but in the spring of 1832 he enlisted in Captain Mace's company as a soldier in the Black Hawk War. In the spring of 1833 he engaged in selling goods in the town of Bowling Green, in which place there were then but three stores, including his own. He continued to mer- chandise here until 1839, when he began to handle produce and to buy and sell stock, in which avocation he continued for some time. Mr. Bell was married May 1, 1842, to Miss Martha Robinson, of this county, but form- erly of Wythe county, Virginia, and soon thereafter again settled near the town of Ashley. In 1850 he bought the first thorough-bred Durham cattle ever owned in Pike county, paying seven hundred dollars for three head, and being frequently told by his friends that his investments were ruinons and must soon succeed in bankrupting him. His stock, however, soon be- came very popular, as they took all the premiums in their class wherever shown-his Dake of Indiana receiving no less than five first premiums at the St. Louis fairs, and hence a demand was made for his cattle, which was alike profitable to him and largely advantageous to the people of the county. From this beginning may be traced the very excellent cattle for which Pike county is now so justly noted. At this time Mr. Bell resides in Ashley, where he has a splendid residence, furnished with much taste, and en- rounded by all the comforts and luxuries calculated to make life pleasant and happy. He has two children, Rebecca, now Mrs. J. W. Bryant; and Anna, now Mrs. J. P. Blanton, whose husband is at this time superintend- ent of the normal school at Kirksville. Mr. Bell has a large farm of about six hundred acres near Ashley, where can be seen some of the best cattle in Pike county. Mr. Bell is a member of the O. S. Presbyterian Church, an elder in the same, a liberal contributor to it, and also a zealous friend and
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supporter of the cause of education and of all those moral influences whose tendencies are the upbuiling of society and the true elevation of the individ- nal members of his race.
B. F. Birkhead. The subject of this sketch is a native of Virginia, born in Tyler county May 10, 1825. His father, Abraham Birkhead, was a native of Maryland. His mother, Ruth Wells, was born and reared in the "Old Dominion." Mr. Birkhead was the seventh child of a family of ten children. His early life was spent on a farm and in the acquisition of a common school education. In 1845 he came to Missouri and settled in Lincoln county, where he improved some wild lands, which he sold when he removed to Ashley, in 1849. Mr. Birkhead was married May 8, 1850. to Miss L. G. Wells, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Wells, of Ashley. Their union has never been blessed with any children. From Ashley Mr. Birkhead removed to Montgomery county, but remained only a few months. In 1875 he moved to St. Charles county, where he lived, engaged in farm- ing, until 1863. In 1864 he went to Alton, Illinois, where he resided for a period of fifteen months, devoting his attention to mercantile pursuits. Our subject returned to Ashley in' 1865. He has a splendid farm of 200 acres of well improved land, with a fine two-story residence of modern style and finish, and furnished with much taste. Mr. Birkhead is a consistent and active working member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and also one of its most liberal supporters. He is a man of a great fund of common sense, well informed upon all the leading questions of the day, and a very genial and companionable gentleman. He has, as he de- serves, the confidence of the entire community, and is recognized by those who know him as a good citizen and a man of great probity and personal integrity.
J. D. Blanton. This young man was born in Cumberland county, Vir- ginia, March 6, 1849. He is the son of F. B. Blanton, of the same county, and Eliza Diel, the daughter of Rer. John Diel, of New York, and one of the first missionaries to the Sandwich Islands, where his daughter, Mrs. Eliza Diel Blanton, was born. Mr. and Mrs. F. B. Blanton had five chil- dren, of whom the subject of our sketch is the oldest. J. D. Blanton spent his youth in his native county preparing for college, and in 1876 he entered the sophomore class of the Hampden-Sidney College, of Prince Edward county, Virginia. Here he graduated in June, 1879. with the highest hon- ors of his class. He came to Missouri in October, 1879, and taught a dis- trict school the following winter in Andrain county. During the winter of 1880 he was principal of the Keytsville public school, in Chariton county, 53
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and in June, 1581, was elected principal of Watson Seminary at Ashley for a term of five years. Since his connection with the school it is said to have grown somewhat in public favor. Mr. Blanton is a Mason and also a mem- of the O. S. Presbyterian Church.
Simeon A. Bryant. The subject of this sketch is a uative of Kentucky, born in Garrett county June 21, 1828. When but two years old his parents left Kentucky and settled in Lincoln county, Missouri. In 1837 they left Lincoln county and located in Pike, where Mr. Bryant was reared and edu- cated. He was married November 14, 1862, to Miss Pet Crow. daugh- ter of John Crow, deceased, one of the early pioneers of the county, an out- line of whose life is to be found among the biographies of this township. In 1835 our subject removed Jo the town of Ashley, where for about eight years he followed the avocation of a merchant. He returned to his farm in 1863, and has since continued to reside there. ITis farm is situated two and a half miles from Ashley, and contains 272 acres of rich and well im- proved land which yields annually a rich return for the labor bestowed upon it. Mr. Bryant is a zealous friend of the cause of education and to advance this interest in the community where he lives he several years since, in company with his brother Walter, started a private school of a high grade at his own residence. The school has proved a great success and it may be the initiation of other enterprises of like character and advantage. Mr. Bry- ant is a member of the Christian Church, an elder in the same, and a liberal contributor to every worthy demand of his church; he is also a member of Ashley Lodge No. 75, A. F. & A. M. HIe is well known all over Pike county, and is both respected and honored for his uprightness of character and real moral worth.
George Bryant. This gentleman, a worthy member of a large and respectable family, was born in Pike county, December 28, 1837. Mr. Bry. ant, like most of the boys of his time, was reared on a farm, and his educa- tion partook of the character of the schools upon which he was forced to depend for instruction. During the war, with hundreds of other gallant young men, he espoused the canse of the south and participated in quite a number of hard fought battles, among them Lexington, Pea Ridge, and Corinth in the state of Mississippi. At the battle of Pea Ridge he was strack by a ball and six of his teeth were knocked out. In 1865 he went to California, where he remained one year, when he returned, and in 1870 or 1871 commenced to sell goods in Ashley. Hc is associated with his brother and together they are doing a good and constantly increasing business. He was married November 19, 1866, to Miss Watkins of Kentucky. They have
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two children, Mary K. and Willie S. Bryant. He is a member of the Ma- sonic order, also of the Knights of Honor, and is a consistent member of the Christian Church.
W. S. Bryant. Mr. Bryant is a native of Garrard county, Kentucky, where he was born November 21, 1824. When but fourteen years of age, Mr. Bryant came to Pike county, and located at Clarksville, where he remained for abont five years working at the business of tailoring. He returned to Kentucky in 1846, bat in 1852 he again left the state and journeyed over- land to California, where he remained searching for gold for about eighteen months, when he returned by ship, via Nicaragua. In 1856 he went to Minnesota and engaged in the real estate business. He assisted in laying ont " Mankota" and " La Crescent." but did not remain long enough to see these places bud into towns or blossom into cities, for in 1857 he had settled in Ashley, and was engaged in merchandising, which business he has since con- tinned to follow. Mr. Bryant was married July 14, 1850, to Miss Fanny E. Riggs, by whom he has two children: John W. Bryant and Mrs. Mary W. MePike. Mr. Bryant is a good merchant, a man of broad and liberal views, and one of the most enterprising business men of this section of the county, in which he has so long resided. He is a member of the Christian Church, and an earnest worker in the cause of Christianity.
W. B. Bryant. is a native of Lincoln county, Kentucky, where he was born June 7, 1831. He is a son of Edward G. Bryant, who was also a native of Kentucky. His mother's maiden naine was Catharine Kissenger, a sister of Ilendley Kissenger, a well known and most excellent Christian gentleman of Calumet township. Edward and Catharine Bryant had eight children: viz., Margaret, Sarah, Patience, Hendley, Martha, W. B., and George. The parents came to Missouri at an early day, and settled near Prairieville, but very soon thereafter moved to Ashley township, and located about two miles east of the town of the same name. Mr. Bryant's early life was spent on the farm where he was engaged in laboring during the greater portion of the year and attending the common county schools during a few months in the winter season. In 1861 he abandoned the farm for the store but after a short time again engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is at this time, how- ever, a member of the firm of George Bryant & Brother, dealers in dry goods. groceries, etc., at Ashley, and are doing a large and prosperous busi- ness. The subject of our sketch was married in May, 1850, to Miss Mary Crow, daughter of John and Mary Crow, who were among the pioneers of Pike county. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Bryant, three of whom are living; viz., Mary C., Eveline, and John Bryant. Mrs.
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Bryant died in September, 1877. Mr. Bryant has been a member of the Christian Church for twenty-eight years, and is specially attentive to hi Christian duties and obligations. He is also a member of the order of the Knights of Honor.
James E. Cash. The subject of this sketch was born in Peno township, near the town of Frankford on the 28th of July, 1848. He is the son of William and Emily (Holiday) Cash. When but five years of age his parent, moved to Ashley township, where our subject was reared and edneated, rr. ceiving his instruction at Watson Seminary. In 1870 he engaged in the dry goods business in the city of Louisiana, but soon afterwards removed to Bowling Green, where he continued the same business for some time, when he finally removed to Ashley, where he continues to reside and still engage in mercantile pursuits with his father-in-law, Mr. B. J. Bowen. Mr. Cash was married in February, 1872. to Miss Susannah Bowen. They have five chil- dren; viz., Edna M., Verna B., Cora E., Tina, and a babe. Mr. Cash is a member of the Masonic order, a jovial gentleman, and has many friends.
James Chamberlain. Among the pioneers of Pike county may be mentioned the subject of this sketch. He is a native of Kentneky, and was born February 8, 1812. He came to Pike county in 1828 where he has since lived, and to the advancement of the interests of his adopted home has contributed much both by his labor and enterprise. His history is similar to that of others who assisted in clearing away the heavy forests or preparing the virgin soil of the prairies for the reception of the seed that was to produce the needful crops. He was married in the fall of 1835 to Miss Martha Wright of this county. This union was blessed with nine children. After the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Cynthia Hugh- lett. For several years he resided near New Harmony. Since the death of his last wife, in 1876, he has made his home with Mrs. Stafford. He is an earnest and zealous member of the Christian Church.
F. A. Childs. Mr. Childs was born in Fanquier county, Virginia, on January 22, 1819. He is the eldest son of a large family of children. Ilis early life was spent working on his father's farm and attending the neighbor- hood schools. Ile was married, September 20, 1853, to Sarah Strother, also a native of Virginia. Mr. Childs came to Pike county with his family in 1865 and settled on the farm where he now resides, about two and a half miles from the town of Ashley. The farm contains two hundred acres of valuable land, well improved and with indications of the energy and indus try of its owner everywhere displayed. Mr. Childs has a family of seven children who, like himself, are active and energetic, and desirous of doing
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something for themselves and those dependent upon them. Mr. Childs cannot be classed as an old settler, but has been here long enough to be- come well acquainted with the people of the county, who hold him in high esteem for his many very excellent qualities.
Samuel Corbitt. This gentleman is of Scotch-Irish extraction and was born in Donegal county, Ireland, on July 4, 1818. When he was fifteen years of age his parents came to America and settled in Tyler county, Vir- ginia, where our subject attained to manhood working npon a farm and at- tending the common district schools of the country. He was married, March 10, 1842, to Miss Mary A. Russell of Tyler county, Virginia. In 1857 they came to Missouri and settled within about two miles of the town of Ashley, where he continued to reside for twenty-four years. During the war he was taken prisoner by the Confederates, and was forced to take the oath not to again take np arms against the south, after which he was per- mitted to return to his home. Mr. and Mrs. Corbitt are the parents of seven children; viz., Joshua, Josephine, Susan, Kate, Eveline, Robert, and Francis. Mr. Corbitt is a member of the O. S. Presbyterian Church. He is regarded as an honest, npright man, and has the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and acquaintances.
John Crow (deceased). Among the early settlers of Ashley township none were better known or more highly respected than the subject of this sketch. Born in Mercer county, Kentucky, in March, 1792, he spent his youth on a farm, receiving such instruction at the schools of the county as was common in the times in which he lived. Before he had attained his majority, in October, 1812, he was married to Miss Polly Little of the same connty with himself, and who survives her husband, and is one of the very oldest ladies now living in Pike county. Mr. Crow enlisted and took an active part in the War of 1812. His services were recognized by the gov- ernment, and during his life he received a pension for the service rendered, and since his death Mrs. Crow receives the same as the widow of a soldier of the War of 1812. In 1813 Mr. Crow's family removed to Davis county, where they lived until 1824, when they came to Missouri, first settling in Boone county, where they stayed but twelve months, when they removed to Pike and settled on a farm near the site of the present town of Ashley. At this time there were but few settlers, neighbors were few, and the im- provements meager and poor. Mr. Crow built the customary log-cabin in which they contrived to summer, without either window or door. Louisiana was at this time the trading point for this settlement, and for even the smallest article the settlers were compelled to travel twenty miles. At Mr.
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Crow's cabin was held the first religious exercises in the neighborhood. Br .. James W. Campbell occasionally preaching there by appointment. M. Crow was among the first to agitate the question of building a church, and to his zeal and energy much of the early interest exhibited in both edne ... tional and religious matters is to be attributed. He was a man of grey energy and activity, and by his efforts and perseverance he succeeded in acquiring a good property. Mr. Crow was the father of eight children, six of whom are still living, and are recognized as good and worthy citizens in the several communities in which they reside. Mr. Crow died July 11, 1574. leaving not only his own family, but a large circle of neighbors and friends to mourn his loss. His wife still survives, but she, too, must ere long fall into the tomb, where, together, like weary travelers on their way to Jerush- lem, they may rest until the trumpet of the archangel shall summon them to judgment and to an immortality of happiness and joy.
Martin Crow. This gentleman, a native of Davis county, Kentucky, was born Jnly 11, 1820. Jle is the son of James and Rhoda (Stemmons) Crow, both of whom were born in Mercer (now Boyle) county, Kentucky. and not far from the town of Danville. James Crow was born July 1, 1755, and Rhoda Stemmons March 25, 1792; they were married October 23, 1510. Their union was blessed with five children, three daughters and two sons; viz., Nancy, Harriet, Sarah, Jacob, and Martin, the subject of this sketch. James Crow died Angust 31, 1822, in Davis county. Kentucky, and in 1527 his widow, in company with her brother-in-law, Walter Crow, came to Pike county, making the entire trip from Kentucky here on horseback, to look at ' these wild western lands, and to determine whether or not she thought it best to move her family to Missouri. They finally determined to settle in Pike county, and here she lived happily with her children until 1881, when she quietly passed away. Martin Crow, our subject, was reared upon the farm upon which he now resides, and early imbibed those industrious hab- its which have been of incalculable advantage to him in subsequent lite. His education was limited; but what he lacked in the knowledge of books, was amply made up for by his acquaintance with the business ways of the world, and the knowledge he possessed of men and things. In the spring of 1850 he made an overland trip to California in company with his uncle, Walter Crow, taking ont a drove of cattle intended for that far western mar- ket. He came home in 1852, returning by way of New Orleans, and en- tered with new zest upon the duties of the farmer. Mr. Crow was married October 18. 1555, to Miss Lonisa Hendrick, daughter of the late Moses Hendrick, of Bowling Green. Seven children have blessed this union: viz ..
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Emma D., Henry C., Edward E., John S., Sally M., Ora B., and Lowell E. Crow, all of whom are living. Mr. Crow has a magnificent farm of 730 acres of land, which is in a high state of cultivation, with excellent im- provements, and which is made by good management and judicious culti- vation to yield large returns for the labor bestowed upon it. Mr. Crow is a good manager, and an enterprising citizen, and is justly classed among the solid and substantial men of the county.
J. L. Elmore, son of Freeman P. Elmore, who was the eldest son of Ben- jamin Elmore. Benjamin Elmore was the son of Benjamin aud Rebecca Elmore, of Welsh origin, who lived in Maryland. Benjamin, father of Free- man P., was married to Mary Cobb Jannary 24, 1811. They arrived in Pike county, Missouri, in November, 1830, settling five miles south of Ashley. They were the parents of ten children. . Freeman P. Elmore was born in Caswell county, North Carolina, December 5, 1811, and came with his parents to this county in 1830. He was married December 22, 1831, to Martha Orr, daughter of Robert Orr. In the spring of 1840 they removed to Lawrence county, Missouri, and in the fall of 1852 to Lafayette county, Missouri. Hle was a zealous worker in the cause of education and religion. Hle died February 1, 1853. After his death the widowed mother and six chil- dren returned to Ashley. The names of the children living are Frances Eliza, Benjamin P., May A., James L., Robert O., Thomas J., Joan Helena, and Freeman E. Martha Orr Elmore, the mother of our subject, who was born Octber 15, 1814, was the daughter of Robert Orr, who was the son of James and Agnes Orr of North Carolina, of Irish descent. James Orr served in the Revolutionary War. Robert Orr was born January 30, 1788, in North Carolina, and was married January 10, 1811. to Frances Swift. In 1816 Robert Orr and family moved to Lincoln county, Missouri, and in 1818 came to Pike county. They were the parents of nine children. J. L. Elmore, our subject, was born October 13, 18443, in Lawrence county, Mis- souri. When he was ten years of age his parents moved to Lafayette county, where his father died, when the mother and children came to Ash- ley. He was reared in Ashley, received his education at Watson Semi- nary, being the first scholar on the first day of the opening of the school. In 1879 he engaged in merchandising with Orr, Grigg & Co., he being one of the firm for three years, when he sold his interest and engaged in the same business with B. J. Bowen, at Ashley, and was in business with Mr. Bowen for five years, when he sold his interest and engaged in business by himself for two years, until January, 1882. In March, 1882, he engaged with Mr. Briggs in the same business. He was married April 23, 1874, to Miss Addie
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