USA > Missouri > Pike County > The history of Pike County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 38
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MASONIC-BLUE LODGE.
Prairieville Lodge No. 137, A. F. & A. M., was organized on the 28th day of May, 1859. Among the charter members were Thomas Vaughan, Daniel W. Allen, William Richardson, John W. Davis, Peter Carr, N. P. Minor, and Capt. Win. H. Knight. The first officers were Thomas R. Vaughan. W. M .; Daniel W. Allen, S. W .; William Richardson, J. W. Drs. W. H. Pollard and C. R. Bankhead were the first persons ever made Masons by the lodge after its organization at Prairieville. The present officers are A. D. Atkins, W. M .; T. W. Lewis, S. W .; S. C. Stanley, J. W. W. B. Shaw, secretary, and Theodore Black, treasurer. The lodge has twenty-seven members and is working pleasantly and harmoniously.
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PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP. :
KNIGHTS OF HONOR.
This lodge was organized in January, 1580, with cighteen charter men- bers. R. C. Pew was its first dictator, W. J. Reynolds, vice-dictator, and R. F. (Tuggie) Clark, the first reporter. The lodge has continued to grow since its organization, and now numbers forty members in good standing. It is in a flourishing condition, having about two hundred dollars surplus in its treasury, after having paid out to the widows and orphans' fund more than sixteen hundred dollars.
M. E. CHURCH SOUTH.
This church, which now has its house of worship in the town of Prai- rieville, was first organized at the residence of Judge John Fagg as carly as the year 1838. Its constituting members were Judge Fagg and wife, S. B. Turner, Daniel W. Allen, George S. Turner, Jerry Roberts, Mildred Roberts, Mrs. Kent, Mrs. Gillum, Mrs. Colman Estes, and others. Rev. E. Lannius was the first minister who officiated here. This was the first Methodist Church organized in the present Prairieville township and the first Methodist church house was built in Prairieville some years there- after, about 1847 or 1848, and dedicated by Rev., afterwards Bishop, E. M. Marvin. In the year 1868 s new and larger church was erected on the same site. Many of the people of the village hold their membership here, but its chief strength is derived from the country adjacent to the town. The church is represented as being in a prosperous condition, with harmony among all its members and manifesting much spiritual strength.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
The Prairieville Baptist Church was organized in May in the year 1870. The constituting members were W. T. Jacobs, Z. W. Mosby, John W. Mitchell, William Luck, Llewellen Johnson, James Johnson, Urenia John- son, and others. The ministers who organized the church were Revs. 1. G. Mitchell, T. N. Sanderson, and William Bibb. Mr. Sanderson was the first regular pastor to serve this church. This congregation first worshiped in the M. E. Church South. They now have a new and commodious church-house in course of construction. The church has thirty-seven mem- bers at this time and conducts a well attended Sunday-school. Mr. Z. W. Mosby, is superintendent of the sabbath-school and also clerk of the church. Rev. Wm. N. Maupin is the present pastor and W. T. Jacobs and Z. W. Mosby, the deacons. This is a working church and gives promise of doing much good in the canse of religions truth in the near future.
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
EPISCOPAL CHURCHI.
St. John's Episcopal Church, a substantial and imposing brick structur. was built in the town of Prairieville in the year 1856, and consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop C. S. Hawks but a short time after its completion .. Before they had a church of their own the Episcopalians worshiped, like the Baptists, in the M. E. Church South, and for years they kept up their or. ganization and continned to hold their services here. The first vestry of this church was composed of the following old, well-known, and highly r ... spected gentlemen: John W. Davis, John A. Good, Capt. John W. Bank. head, Peter Carr, and Col. E. W. Dorsey. The present vestry is as follows: H. J. Meriwether, John E. Stonebraker, and Edwin Davis. Mr. Stone braker is also clerk of the church and Edwin Davis its treasurer. Years ago this church was in a flourishing condition and numbered among its communicants many of the oldest and best families of this portion of the. county. Many of the older members have died, others have moved away, and the church has never been able to repair the loss which it has thus sus. tained. There are at present but twenty communicants and the church has neither rector nor sabbath-school.
REMARKS.
But little space has been given to Prairieville township for the reason that up to the early part of the year 1870 it was a part of Calumet, and ali the early history of the latter, included the territory and citizens of the former. In all the public enterprises of "old Calumet," the railroad ex- cepted, the people of Prairieville entered with the same zeal and contrib- uted with the same generosity. They are in heart and feeling the same people, and uo imaginary township lines can alienate the one or estrange the other. They are alike the descendants of the same proud people, influ- enced by the same high motives and desirous alike of accomplishing the same grand purposes. No cirenmstance, nor combination of circumstances, will ever suffer to array the one in open hostility against the other. Each must continue to sustain the other, and the empire of Calumet and the "kingdom of Prairieville" must remain in the future as in the past, one in all things save in name.
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BIOGRAPHY AL SKETCHES.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP.
Homer A. Beekner, farmer, Prairieville township. Mr. Beekner is a na- tive of Virginia, born in Botetourt county, in April, 1851. He obtained his education in his native county; arriving at maturity he began his career as a teacher. He taught his first school in Virginia, and then came to Mis- souri in 1872. Resuming teaching, this he followed for several years, during which time he was married to Lizzie Goodman, daughter of Garret Good- man. She died in 1877; in 1878 he married a sister of his first wife. He has a small farm with good improvements, and a soil very fertile. Mr. Beckner is now turning his attention to the dairy business, and is one of the intelligent farmers of his neighborhood.
Theodore Black, postmaster and station agent, and proprietor of harness shop. The subject of our sketch is a native of Louisiana, parish of West Feliciana; he was born April 3, 1547, and is the son of John and Catharine (Waldon) Black, who were natives of Germany. Our subject was the youngest of two children; he was reared in the towns of Bayou Sara and St. Francis- ville, where he received his education. At the age of seventeen he commenced work at the trade of harness-making with Connel & Bockel, where he worked until he had thoroughly learned his trade. At the age twenty-two he came to St. Louis, where he worked at his trade for a time, and in 1869 he came to Eolia and started the harness-shop where he has since carried on the business. He carries a large assortment of everything found in a first-class shop, and by fair and honorable dealing has seenred a large trade. He was appointed notary public in 1875, and justice of the peace in November, 1876. He was appointed postmaster under Gen. Grant in January, 1875, and again was re- appointed in February, 1881; he was appointed station and express agent in October, 1881. He is a member the Masonic order, and Knights of Honor. He was married December 17, 1874, to Miss Mollie D. Turner, daughter of George S. Turner of this township, one of the pioneers of this county. They are the parents of four children : George F., Lotta, Mabel, and Russell. Mr. Black has a nice home adjoining Prarieville, a good residence situated on a seven acre lot, which he has improved in a good manner, where he has all the conventencies of a good home.
G. S. Britt was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, June 28, 1827, and came with his parents to Missouri in the year 1829, and settled in Lincolu county, where our subject was reared and educated. On reaching his ma-
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
jority he came to Paynesville and learned the wagon-making trade, who ! avocation he has since followed. In 1870 he came to his present home : Prairieville, and has since been engaged in general blacksmithing and wa; on-making. and has a fine business. He was married September 20, 1-1. to Miss Elizabeth R. Patton, of Pike county, and by this union hade ....; children, five of whom still survive: Elizabeth A., Charley E., James i !. George M., and Fannie L. He is a member of A. F. & A. M. Lodge No. 137. His wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Edwin Davis, post-office Eaton, farmer and stock-raiser. The subject of our sketch was born in Pike county, Missouri, July 2, 1848. lle is the son of John W. and Alice T. Davis. His youth was spent in assisting cu the farm and attending school. In 1868 he began farming on his own re. sponsibility on the farm where he now resides. It contains 276 acres of improved land under a high state of cultivation. His residence, a fine two. story frame building. located on an eminence, and commanding a fine view of the surrounding country, was completed in the fall of 1882. He was married November 12, 1874, to Miss A. F. Lewis, of Lincoln county, an l by this union there are three children: Loutie O., Nichols L., and James D. Mr. Davis and wife are members of the Episcopal Church.
William T. Jacobs, merchantand farmer. Prominent among the bus. iness men of Prairieville may be mentioned Mr. Jacobs, who was born in St. Louis county, Missouri, in 1839. ITis father, Benjamin F., is a native of Orange county, Virginia, and was born there in 1816, and immigrated to Missouri in 1837 and settled in St. Louis county, and moved his family to Pike county in 1847. He was a farmer by occupation, and also a stock- trader, and resided in this county until 1865, when he moved to the state of Illinois, and was there engaged in agriculture and trading in stock until IST3. His wife was a danghter of David Tinder, of Spottsylvania county. Virginia, her name being Sarah A. Tinder, who died in March, 1853. This couple had a family of five children, three of whom are now living. Wil- liam T., our subject, was raised on a farm until 1861, when he entered the Confederate army under General Price and served until the memorable battle of Vicksburg in 1863. At that battle he lost his left leg by the bursting of a shell, which shattered his limb, rendering amputation neces- sary. He then returned to his home and engaged in teaching schoo! from that time until 1865, when he was married to Miss Martha E. Beasley. daughter of Austin Beasley, Esq .. one of the pioneer settlers of this part of the county, who was formerly from Virginia. Mr. Jacobs continued farming until 1872, when he was elected assessor. He held this office ac.
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ceptably for two years. In 1875, in the fall, he embarked in the mercantile business in which he has continued until the present. Mr. Jacobs is a man widely known in business circles, and his reputation for honesty and upright dealing has given him a prestige enjoyed but by few. He is a prom- inent member of the Knights of Honor. He is a member of the Baptist Church, having joined some thirty years ago. His worthy wife is a member of the M. E. Church South. They have two children, one son and a daughter, Rosa D. and George W. Jacobs.
William N. Merriwether was born in Bedford county, Virginia, May 12, 1840, where he grew to manhood. While finishing his education at the Virginia Military Institute the rebellion broke out, and he enlisted in the Thirty-eighth Virginia Infantry, where he served as first lieutenant for two years, when he was promoted to captain in the Twenty-first Virginia Car- alry, where he served two years longer, until the close of the war. In 1866 he came to Pike county, Missouri, where he remained a short time. He then went to Kentucky. remaining there about four years. In 1871 he re- * turned to Pike county. where he has since made his home. He first engaged in teaching school for one year. He then turned his attention to farming, stock-growing, and stock-dealing, which avocation he has since followed ex- tensively. In connection with his farming he has taken large contracts with railroad companies to furnish ties and bridge timber for several years, in which occupation he has been exceedingly successful. On reaching Mis- souri our subject had limited means. and by his own exertions has accumu- lated a large property. He was married November 4, 1869, to Miss Mary E .. daughter of John W. and Alice T. Davis, who were among the early settlers of the county, and settled the farm where our subject now lives. They are the parents of eight children: William N., Jr., Alice, Davis, Louise, Frank, Sallie. Mabel, and George. Mr. Merriwether has a fine farm of 900 acres of good land under a - high state of cultivation, with large and commodious barns and stables and ont-buildings. His residence is a fine brick house, built on an eminence, commanding a fine view of the surround- ing country. Mrs. M. is a member of the Episcopal Church.
William H. Pollard. physician and surgeon. Prominent among the physicians of this place may be mentioned Dr. Pollard, who was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, in March, 1834. His father. Henry J. Pollard, is a native of Virginia, and was born in Orange county. November 15, 1806. He lived in his native county until twenty-six years of age. . He was mar- ried, in 1833, to Miss Courtney, daughter of Thomas Burton, and in 1835 he immigrated to Missouri, coming all the way through by wagons, and
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
settled near the present town site of Prairieville and engaged in farming. IIe owns a neat farm of 237 acres, all under fence. Ile retired from his farin in 1873 on account of poor health. Hle reared a family of two children: Mary Ann. who married John Carter, and died January 26, 1860; and Wil- liam H., the subject of ont sketch. The Doctor, who is the only surviving child, was but one and a half years old when his parents came to this state. He was eductated in the schools of his neighborhood, spending his youth on a farm. When about eighteen years of age he went to the State University at Columbia, which he attended two years. Returning home he began the .
study of medicine with Dr. Henderson, an eminent physician of this place, and took four courses of lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, gradu- ating in March, 1956, after which he commenced to practice in the fowe where he formerly lived, and where he is still engaged in its duties. He was married in December, 1857, to Miss Mary A. Goodman, daughter of Gar- ret Goodman of this county. Dr. Pollard is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and also a member of the Knights of Honor and Legion of Honor. . Ile is a prominent member of the M. E. Church Sonth. They have a family of seven children: Robert, Mary A., Carrie, John C., William D., Alice C., and Charles B.
William J. Reynolds, merchant, Prairieville, was born in Lincoln county, Missouri, July 13, 1850. He was reared on a farm and attended the common schools until he was sixteen years of age. He then went to the Westininster College at Portland, Missouri, for a period of two years, where he finished his education. He then went to Clarksville where he studied dentistry with his brother, Dr. Reynolds of that place, and practiced at the same place for three years with good success. He then turned his attention to farming and teaching school in winter, which avocation he followed until the fall of 1882, when he sold his farm and purchased a half interest in a general merchandise store at Prairieville in company with W. T. Jacobs, where he is now located. He was married, April 15, 1874, to Miss Ella , Turner of Pike county. By this union are three children: Hattie, May, and Nellie. IIe and his wife are members of the M. E. Church Sonth.
James H. Sanderson, Prairieville township, farmer and stock dealer. His farm contains 120 acres, section 17, and 140 acres, section 10. He re- sides in a large two-story frame of modern architecture and finish, sitnated on a very high and sightly place, affording a fine view of the Aberdeen val- ley. The farm is known as the old Seforce place, settled by a very peculiar man, who did his best to cultivate and beautify his yard. Mr. Sanderson is a native of Virginia, born in Bedford county, on the Sth day of Decem-
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 873
ber, 1829. Mr. Sanderson came to Missouri when a young man about twenty-one years of age, stopping with Mrs. Hogan. He was married January 25, 1852, to Miss Georgiana II. Smith, daughter of John Smith, one of the carly settlers. Mr. Sanderson then moved to his present farm and commenced to carve out a future for himself. In the fall of 1872 he was elected county collector of Pike county, and in 1874 was re-elected, serving in all four years. Mr. Sanderson is one of the open, honest, straightforward men, very manifest in action and expression. He has a family of four children: Richard R., Marzell L., Linnie B., and Newman M. Mr. Sander- son commenced life in meager circumstances. He made his start in the world by the raising of tobacco. His industry, energy, and natural ubiquity have gained for him prestige in the county, and his success in the results of accumulation is a test of intellect. Mr. Sanderson has been identified with the Missionary Baptist Church for a period of twenty-two years, and has been for many years a deacon of whom the church has reason to be proud. His estimable lady is also a member of the same church. Mr. San- derson was one of the original members in the organization.
William H. Smith, Prairieville, hotel-keeper and farmer. This gentle- man was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, November 24, 1824, and came to Pike county, Missouri, with his parents in 1832. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. After he reached his majority he began teaching school, which he followed for six years. He was mar- ried, September 9, 1847, to Miss Sarah A. Harpwood, a native of Garrard county, Kentucky, after which he turned his attention to farming and teach- ing school in winter, which avocation he followed for twenty-three years. He then sold his farm and engaged in the mercantile business, which he followed for several years in Louisiana. In 1870 he came to Prairieville, where he purchased property and has since been keeping hotel and farming. In 1882 he was elected to the office of justice of the peace. He and his wife have been members of the Baptist Church for many years. They are the parents of six children, four of whom still survive: Martha A., A. J., Wil- liam II., and Matilda.
Alex. Turner, merchant. Ile was a native of Amherst county, Virginia, born in 1835, the son of John F. Turner, a native of the same county and state, and a farmer by occupation, who was born in 1798. His mother was a native of Virginia; she was a daughter of Sarah Tugall. He immigrated to Missouri in the year 1838 and settled on what is known as the Minor place, where he stopped one year, after which he bought the Paxton farm two and one-half miles west of this place (Prairieville) where he was engaged
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
in raising tobacco and raising and storing grain. His family consists of seven children, all living: F. N. S., Stephen J., Daniel F., Mary J., Mrs. J. Shaw, Mrs. Ella Nolton, and S. H. He served many years as postmaster. and at the same time kept a public house to entertain travelers. In 1845 he moved to Louisiana to get better school facilities for his children, and at which place he died October 27, 1850. His wife died in March, 1551. Our subject was principally raised in this county, receiving the greater part of his education at Wood's Seminary, of Louisiana. Our subject embarked in the mercantile business at Prairieville, in 1858, and has been engaged ever since; he has also dealt largely in tobacco for the last fifteen years; he also is handling grain, mostly wheat and oats. His store consists of a general stock.
Calvin Wigginston, farmer and stock-raiser, is a native of Kentucky. born in Bourbon county, on the 6th day of January, 1834. His father, James Wigginston, immigrated to Missouri in the fall of 1833, and first set- tled on Ramsey Creek, where he lived one year, and then moved to the farm now owned by J. C. Goodman, where he continued to reside until the time of his death, which occurred in 1875, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He married for his first wife Miss Campbell, in Kentucky, who was the mother of our subject, who died early in life, leaving six children, three boys and three girls, all of whom are still living. He married the second time Luey M. Johnson, who is still living on the old homestead. He had by this marriage four children, all living but one. Calvin Wiggingstou, our subject, was raised on the farm, receiving a common school education. At the age of twenty-five, January 16, 1861, he was married to Miss Mary A. Hunter, daughter of Stephen Hunter. She was born February 14, 1840, in Virginia. Mr. W. is one of the most enterprising farmers and stock- dealers of his township. His farm comprises seven hundred and thirty aeres of excellent land, finely improved. His soil is based on a limestone formation, and is consequently well adapted for blue-grass and grain. His residence is a large two-story frame, located on a high, sightly situation. He has two children, a boy and a girl, Edward B. and Addie V., both at- tending school at MeCune College. Mr. W. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Baptist Church. He has three of the largest teams of horses and the largest span of mules in Prairieville township. They are of superior stock, and are very handsome as well as valnable. Practically Mr. W. ranks among the best farmers in Pike county.
John S. Worlledge, post-office Prairieville. The subject of this sketch is a son of Benjamin H. and Julia A. Worlledge, who came to Pike county
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HARTFORD TOWNSHIP.
from Amherst county, Virginia, in the year 1836, with limited means, and being a man of great energy in a short time he was able to purchase a farm of about 100 acres, and by economical living he was able to educate his children and accumulate quite a large property. They were the parents of three children, all of whom still survive: John S., Eliza, and John B. Our subject was born in Pike county, August 14, 1840; reared on a farm, and received his early education in the common schools, and finished his ed- ucation at Canton, Kentucky. He was married December 1, 1867, to Mies Sarah E. Smith, a native of Pike county. By this union were four daugh- ters: Anna L., Mary S., Minnie J., and Alice D. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Lodge No. 17. He has a fine farm of 2773 acres of improved land, under a high state of cultivation, with a good young orchard, which yields an abun- dance of the choice varieties of fruit.
CHAPTER XXI.
HARTFORD TOWNSHIP.
Topography and Resources- Old Settlers-Incidents-Game - A Thrilling Incident- Churches-Cemeteries-Schools-Business Directory-Biographical Sketches.
This is the most southerly as well as the southwestern township of the county. It reaches to the extent of its own width below or south of any other portion of Pike county. It is bounded on the north by Indian and Ashley townships, on the east by Lincoln county, on the south by Lincoln and Montgomery counties, and on the west by Audrain county. The town- ship is in area about equal to both Indian and Ashley or about double the size of Prairieville. It has both wood and prairie lands and is well adapted to agricultural purposes. The surface is generally undulating, with no high hills or abrupt bluff's, but with some irregularity of surface, especially along the creeks. The timber is mostly confined to the water-courses but there is an abundance of it to meet the wants of the people of the township. The general surface consists of vast areas of rich prairie lands with occasional belts of timber, consisting of the different kinds of oak, with hickory, wal- nut, linn, elin, sugar-tree, sycamore, and cottonwood, the last two generally found in the bottoms and along the water-courses. Besides the ordinary crops, sueli as corn, wheat, and oats, timothy and the other grasses are
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
grown here in rich luxuriance, and hence with the water facilities of the township Hartford is well adapted to stock-raising. The principal water. course in Hartford is Indian Creek, which enters the northern portion of the township and flows in a southeasterly direction through it emptying its waters into Cnivre River. This river also assists in watering Hartford town- ship, flowing through its northeasterly portion in a southeasterly direc- tion. Head Creek also flows through a small portion of the township. These streams, together with the smaller creeks and unnamed branches, supply the stock of the county with an abundance of pure water, while the numner- ous springs of the township preclude the possibility of the water supply ever being exhausted. Perhaps the largest and best known spring in Hart- ford is the one known as the Moore Spring, on the old Thos. Moore place. It is pure limestone water, but the supply is beyond the power of the cattle on even a thousand hills to exhaust.
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