Greene County Biographies
Greene County Biographies
From: Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri Early and Recent History and Genealogical Records of Many of the Representative Citizens by Jonathan Fairbanks and Clyde Edwin Tuck ALFRED S. ABBOTT. The eminent position attained by Alfred S. Abbott, master mechanics at the Springfield Frisco shops, has been the result of long years of patient, painstaking, honest and conscientious effort, and he is therefore deserving of his success. His record might well be studied with profit by the young men who are striving for recognition in the mechanical world, for it indicates, among other things, how merit wins, despite obstacles, and that success is dependent on ability and integrity more than anything else. But Mr. Abbott had good parents who taught him from the start the duties of life--not ordinary instructions, but the higher duties which all owe to each other and to society. The result has been to give broad ideas of life and its responsibilities and to fit him for honorable citizenship. Mr. Abbott was born, May 23, 1868, in Pentwater, Michigan. He is a son of Jacob B. and Elizabeth E. (Snowden) Abbott. The father was born in Hamburg, New York, in 1842, and his death occurred in Joplin, Missouri, in 1886. The mother was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1844, and she died in Joplin, Missouri, in 1901. These parents grew to maturity in the East and were given the advantage of a public school education. Jacob B. Abbott studied medicine when a boy and became a successful physician and surgeon, which profession he followed the remainder of his active life. In 1873 he removed with his family from Pentwater, Michigan, to Kansas. In 1875 he located in Joplin, this state, but the rest of the family did not locate in that city until 1877. Doctor Abbott was enjoying an excellent practice in the mining town at the time of his death. Politically, he was a Republican. During the Civil war he served in the Union army, having enlisted in Company I, Forty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in 1861, at Oregon, Illinois, and he saw considerable hard service in the South and took part in many of the great battles of the war, Wilson's Creek, Missouri, being among them. He was honorably discharged in 1865. His family consisted of three children, two of whom are still living, namely: Alfred S., of this review; Fred.J., deceased; and Harry C., who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. Alfred S. Abbott was nine years old when he came to Joplin, this state and there he attended the common schools. In February, 1888 he began his railroad career by going to work in the roundhouse of the Frisco railroad at Joplin, and there and in Springfield he served his apprenticeship of four years. In 1898 he was made division foreman at Sapulpa, Oklahoma, where he remained until 1902, in September of which year he came to Springfield as machinist in the North Side shops, and worked as such until in December, 1902, then was made division foreman at Newburg, Missouri, which position he held from December 13th, of that year until March 1, 1907, when he was sent to Birmingham, Alabama, as general foreman, where he remained until July 1, 1909, when he was appointed master of mechanics at Ft. Smith, Arkansas, which position he held until March 1, 1911, when he was transferred to Sapulpa, Oklahoma, with the same duties, which he discharged until August 15, 1911, when he was made mechanical superintendent at Springfield, remaining in that position until September 1, 1913, since which time he has been master mechanic for the Eastern division of the Frisco, and is at this writing discharging the duties of this responsible and important post in a manner that reflects great credit upon his ability, fidelity and integrity and to the eminent satisfaction of the company, which has ever reposed in him the utmost confidence and has regarded him as one of its most efficient, trustworthy and reliable employees. He is not only a close observer but is a diligent student of all that pertains to his lines of work and has kept well abreast of the times in the same. Mr. Abbott was married, June 26, 1894, in Joplin, Missouri, to Kate Seanor, who was born in Iowa, January 1, 1871. She is a daughter of John and Clara B. (Wilder) Seanor, the father a native of England and the mother of Sandy Creek, New York. Mrs. Abbott received a good education, including a college course at Boulder, Colorado. To Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, three children have been born, namely: Katie P., born July 17, 1895; John Seanor, born January 31, 1899; and Alfred S. Jr., born February 1, 1907. Mr. Abbott is a Republican. He is a member of the Episcopal church, and fraternally belongs to the Masonic order, including the Knights Templars and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen. JAKE ALBERT. The career of Jake Albert of Springfield has been a varied one, as will be seen by a perusal of the following paragraphs. But he has been a man who has made stepping-stones of his adversities, and has succeeded in his life work. He has for many years devoted a great deal of attention to fruit growing, and is one of the best, informed men on horticultural subjects in Greene county. He is also engaged in the real estate business. Mr. Albert was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, October 16, 1863. He is a son of Jake and Maggie (Coffenberger) Albert, both natives of Germany, and there they spent their early childhood, emigrating to the United States about the same time, the father being about thirteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to our shores, He had received a common school education in his native land. The family located in Illinois, coming direct to that state, and there Jake Albert, Sr., grew to manhood and married. His wife died when our subject was fourteen years old, in Illinois, but the father of our subject survived many years and died in Springfield, Missouri. He was a farmer and gardener. His family consisted of eight children, namely: Maggie, deceased; Jake, of this review; Peter, deceased; Daniel is living; Henry, deceased; Annie, deceased; the next two died in infancy unnamed. Jake Albert, of this sketch, grew to manhood in Illinois and he received a common, school education; however, may be classed with the self-educated men of our country, for he has been a great reader along varied lines. He followed farming until he was twenty-one years old, then went to Wellington, Kansas, and worked at the stone mason's trade. He came to Springfield in 1887, and has made his home here ever since. From time to time he worked for the Frisco system for many years, also followed farming and fruit growing, the latter being his principal vocation, and he is still active in the same, in connection with which he deals in real estate. He had an addition of twelve acres in the edge of Springfield, and still owns a part of it. He built his own pleasant home on West Atlantic street three years ago, which is one of the most attractive and desirable in that part of the city. He has long been enthusiastic on the subject of fruit growing and is well informed on the various phases of the same. He has been a man of energy, never afraid of hard work, and, possessing sound judgment, has acquired a very comfortable competence. Mr. Albert was married in September, 1886, to Dolly R. Davis, who was born in Illinois in 1872, where she grew to womanhood and was educated, and they were married in that state. She was a daughter of John and Emma (Kimmel) Davis, natives of Pennsylvania and Illinois, respectively. Mr. Davis has devoted his active life to farming, and he and his wife are still living, having for some time resided in Greene county. Mr. Albert was called upon to mourn the loss of his faithful life companion, who was summoned to her reward on August 2, 1900, at the farm of our subject, about two and one-half miles west of Springfield. She was a worthy member of the Christian church and was a fine type of the refined home-loving Christian woman. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert, named as follow: Otis, born on October 15, 1887, died October 15, 1905; Nettie, born in 1889, died in 1904; Emma, born in April, 1895, died in 1913; William, born on July 18, 1897, lives at home. Politically, Mr. Albert is a Democrat and has long been more or less active in public affairs. He was at one time road overseer and commissioner here, and was for three years a school director in his district. Fraternally he belongs to the Eagles, the Loyal Order of Moose, also the German Brotherhood, and religiously he is a member of the Christian church. WILLIAM ELIJAH ALBRIGHT, M. D. Dr. William E. Albright was born in Polk county, Missouri, May 20, 1865. He is a son of William Franklin Albright, who was born in Georgia in 1822. He spent his youth in his native state and there received his education, in part, but was still a lad when, in 1843, he removed to Missouri, in which state he spent the rest of his life, engaged in farming and in the ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and did an incalculable amount of good in the work of the same in various ways. He was of the hospitable kind and courteous type of Southerner, and was greatly beloved by all who, knew him. He did not live for self alone, but was constantly on the lookout for some way whereby he might benefit others. He married Millie Jane Fullerton, who was born in Tennessee, from which state she came to Missouri in her girlhood; she, too, was a fine Christian character; she died at the age of sixty-two years, but the doctor's father, truly a "grand old man of Israel," was not summoned to his reward until he had reached the ripe old age of eighty-nine years. Of their children two sons and one daughter are living at this writing, namely: Dr. William E., of this sketch; Sterling Price (named after the great Confederate general) lives at Purdy, Missouri, where he owns and operates a drug store; Anna Elizabeth is the wife of William D. Laney, also engaged in the drug business, and lives at Thayer, this state. The maternal grandfather, James Fullerton, died many years ago in Polk county, Missouri, whither he had moved from Tennessee, in an early day, and spent the rest of his life in farming. His wife, Anna Elizabeth, has also been deceased a number of years. One sister of the doctor's mother survives, Mrs. Hannah Kerr, of Polk county, where her husband, James Kerr, a farmer, died more than thirty years ago. Doctor Albright grew to manhood on the home farm in Polk county and there found plenty of hard work to do when a boy. In the winter time he attended the public schools. He is a fine sample of the self-made man. After entering his teens he earned his own way by engaging in various kinds of business, principally farming, and he has seen life on its hardest side but with indomitable energy and perseverance he has forged ahead and may be justly proud of the large success which has attended his efforts. After attending the public schools he entered the Pleasant Hope Academy, near his boyhood home, completed the course and was graduated. Then he entered the Kansas City Medical College in 1900, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1904. Soon thereafter he began the practice of his profession at Kansas, where he remained two years, then came to Springfield. He was successful from the first, and is now enjoying a large and constantly growing practice. Doctor Albright is a member of the Greene County Medical Society and the Woods County Medical Society (Oklahoma). Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic order, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also the Loyal Order of Moose. Politically he is a Democrat, and in religious matters is a Methodist. Doctor Albright married Rosa Ellen Sullivant, a daughter of Jackson Sullivant, a native of Pleasant Hope, Missouri. He formerly engaged in farming in Polk county, but is now retired and makes his home with our subject and wife. His wife, who was Sarah Elizabeth Edmondson, died in 1903. Mrs. Albright is the only child and is very fond of her father, who is a fine old gentleman, highly respected by all who know him. One child has been born to Doctor and Mrs. Albright, Claud Wellington Albright, whose birth occurred in Polk county, this state, in March, 1891; he received his earlier education in the ward schools of Springfield, was later graduated from Drury Academy, and expects to complete the regular course in Drury College, then take up the study of medicine; he is making an excellent record as a student and is a lad of much promise. He is a natural musician, and is also educating himself on the violin as a side issue of his more serious life work. NEWTON V. ALLEBACH. The beginning of the career of Newton V. Allebach was characterized by hard work and conscientious endeavor, and he owes his rise to no train of fortunate incidents or fortuitous circumstances. His rise has not been of the meteoric type, but has been steady and slow. The major portion of his life has been devoted to railroad service, having been on the Frisco system for a number of years, and he is the present popular general chairman of the Order of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, in which he has long been active and influential. Mr. Allebach was born in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, August 6, 1860. He is a son of Abraham H. and Catherine (Kramer) Allebach. The father was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, September 27, 1810, and the mother was also born in the old Keystone state in the year 1833. There they grew to maturity, received limited educations in the early-day schools and they were married in Clarion county and established the family home there, Mr. Allebach engaging in the mercantile business. He was twice married, our subject being a child by his second wife, and is one of six sons, four of whom are still living, namely: Ansen M. lives in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Rufus D. is deceased. Newton V., subject of this sketch, Arlington H. is deceased; Melvin C. lives in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Victor L. lives in East Brady. The death of Abraham H. Allebach occurred June 14, 1881, his wife, mother, of our subject, surviving until in January, 1912, both dying in Pennsylvania, where they spent their lives. Politically he was a Lincoln Republican, and fraternally was a member of the Masonic Order, while his wife belonged to the Eastern Star. Newton V. Allebach grew to manhood in his native community in Clarion county and he received a common school education. When he was seventeen years of age he went to Minnesota and worked in various parts of that state. For some time he engaged in lumbering at the head of Lake Superior. In 1881 he went to. North Dakota, and in 1884 he began his career as railroader at Fargo, that state, on the Northern Pacific as fireman, and was later promoted to engineer on switch engines and freight trains. He remained in the North until 1889, when he had a run into Montana and Wyoming, then was in the employ of the Southern Pacific until in September, 1895, when he came to Monett, Missouri and went to work for the Frisco system as freight engineer, his run being from that city to Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and in 1906 he was given a passenger train and was in that service about seven years. His career in the trains service on all the above named roads has been eminently commendable and satisfactory, and is a record of duty ably and faithfully performed. Mr. Allebach has been actively engaged in the work of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers since 1895. He moved to Springfield in 1910, where he has since resided. Since his election to general chairman in above order he has devoted his time exclusively to the interests of the order. His position is one of importance and considerable responsibility, and he is kept very busy looking after adjustments and the man things constantly coming up to be attended to, which requires a man of tact, diplomacy and forceful personality, as well as energy and fidelity. The splendid record Mr. Allebach has made in this important office with which he has been honored would in dictate the wisdom of his selection and his services are entirely satisfactory to all concerned. He is one of the best known and most universally liked railroad men in the South West, being a good mixer, friendly, genial, honest and conscientious. Mr. Allebach was married in Monett, Missouri, December 25, 1897, to Nora Blakeslee, who was born in northern Pennsylvania in 1870, where she spent her early girlhood, being eight years old when her parents, Lafayette and Delia (Cook) Blakeslee removed with her to Barry county, Missouri. These parents were natives of Pennsylvania, where they grew to maturity received limited educations in the common schools and were married. The death of the father occurred in Barry county, Missouri, where Mrs. Allebach was reared to womanhood and educated in the common schools. The mother is still living. Mr. Blakeslee devoted his active life to farming and contracting. His family consisted of eight children. To Mr. and Mrs. Allebach four children have been born, namely: Franz, born October 3, 1898; Vernon V., born September 13, 1901; Karl A., born November 3, 1904; Catherine, born May 22, 1907, died December 4, 1908. Politically Mr. Allebach is a Democrat. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Order, is a Knights Templar, and a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously the family belongs to the Presbyterian church. JOHN D. ALLEN. The wanderlust, like a siren, calls to every youth to forsake his ancestral hills and halls and go out in quest of a better country. Many have heeded the summons to their advantage, but perhaps more have answered to their doom. In such a county as Greene that young man is fortunate who has the sagacity to remain at home. The call very frequently leads men to forsake the "land of milk and honey" and go in search of a never-to-be-attained oasis of a mirage, ultimately finding instead the barren, sand-swept waste of a Sahara; often, too, after it is too late to return and establish-themselves in their own native locality in a proper manner. John D. Allen, foreman of the tin department at the new Frisco shops, Springfield, is one of our native born sons who has been prudent in remaining in his native county. Mr. Allen was born at Cave Spring, Cass township, Greene county, March 18, 1870. He is a son of Stephen G. and C. N. (Penley) Allen. The father was born in Georgia, April 15, 1845, and is still living at Cave Spring, whither he removed from Dixieland in the year 1868. He has a good small farm here and has followed agricultural pursuits for some time but being a carpenter by trade his earlier life was devoted to work in this line. He served in the Confederate army in the Civil war, enlisting before he was eighteen years old. He was wounded in the battle at Atlanta, Georgia, August 11, 1864. After the war, he located in Marion county, Tennessee, where he was married, August 10, 1867, to C. N. Penley, a native of Tennessee. In 1868, Mr. Allen came to Greene county, locating at Cave Spring, where he has since resided and here has reared his family of seven children, namely: J. Charles, John D., Laura, Louis M., Stephen G., Mary A. and Katy J. The latter died at the age of four years. Mr. Allen, at the age of seventy years, is a hale, hearty man and enjoys caring for his little farm. Politically, he is a Democrat and belongs to the Universalist church. John D. Allen grew to manhood on the home farm in Cass township, where he worked when a boy and he received his education in the district schools at Cave Spring. He remained on the farm until he was nineteen years of age, then came to Springfield and went to work in the office of the Springfield Republican, later he worked at the barber's trade f or a short time. In 1890 he began work in the North Side Frisco shops where he learned the tinner's trade, remaining there three and one-half years, then spent over six years in the South-Side shops at his trade, after which he re-turned to the shops on the North Side and has remained in the tin department here, being now foreman in the new shops, which responsible position he has held since the opening of the new shops. He has a large number of men under his direction, and he is not only a most capable and highly skilled workman but is a man of considerable executive ability. Mr. Allen was married on December 5, 1892, in Springfield, to Della Gee, who was born in Indiana, April 12, 1871. She is a daughter of Amos and Nancy Jane Gee. The father was a native of Indiana and was born in 1845 and the mother was born in 1850. They are still living and reside on a good farm near Alva, Oklahoma. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen, namely: Wade, born on March 11, 1895; Gladys, born on July 15, 1899; and Louise, born on August 9, 1909. Politically, Mr. Allen is a Democrat and fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. He and wife belong to the Knights and Ladies of Security. HENRY S. ANDERSON. The western part of Greene county can boast of few more progressive farmers and stock raisers than the well-known gentleman whose name furnishes the caption of this article. His progenitors were among the pioneers who reclaimed the land in the vicinity of Elwood from the wild state, and Mr. Anderson has spent his life in this vicinity, and the last three decades on the fine farm he now occupies and owns, and while laboring for material success he has not neglected his duties as a public-spirited citizen, always being willing to aid in such movements as made for the betterment of his township and county, and it has been fortunate that such men as he have been contented to remain in their native locality instead of locating in other countries. Henry S. Anderson. was born in Greene county, Missouri, November 7, 1856. He is a son of Peter L. and Sarah (Hazelton) Anderson, and he has a brother and sister living, namely: George W., of San Antonio, Texas, and Martha J. Short, of Greene county, Missouri. The father of our subject was three times married. He was a native of Tennessee, from which state he came to Missouri when young and located in Greene county, where he followed general farming. His death occurred in the year 1903. The mother of our subject was born in the state of New York, and she accompanied her family to southwest Missouri when young. Her death occurred in 1883. Henry S. Anderson grew to manhood on the home farm and worked hard when a boy and under his father gained a knowledge of agriculture that stood him well in hand in later life. He received his education in the rural schools of his district, and when a young man took up farming for himself. He was born reared within a mile of the old homestead of his maternal grandfather, Mr. Hazelton having entered the place from the government and developed it. Our subject has lived on his present farm twenty-nine years. It consists of one hundred and sixty acres of productive and valuable land, on which he has made such improvements as were needed to make it the equal of any in the vicinity, and here he has made a success as a general farmer and has always kept a good grade of live stock. He has a good set of buildings and keeps everything in ship-shape about the place. Mr. Anderson has been twice married, first, to Jessie Wiley, by whom four children were born, namely: George E., who is farming in this county, married Elsie Henshaw, and they have one child, Mary; Bertha married H. B. Morton, a merchant of Brookline, this county; Ardo D., who is engaged in farming in Greene county, married Leota Pickering; Maud married Frank Blanton, a farmer of Brookline township, and they have two children. The death of our subject's first wife occurred in 1890, and he subsequently married on October 28, 1894, Mary C. McCullough, of Christian county, Missouri, and a daughter of William F. McCullough, a farmer. To this second union three children have been born, namely: Earl R., born in 1895, lives at home; Lynn T., born in 1903, is also with his parents; Claude died in infancy. Politically, Mr. Anderson is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. JOSEPH G. ANDERSON. Death is always regarded by the masses as a visitor to our homes to be dreaded, but before whose merciless power we are helpless, and his crossing our thresholds seems doubly deplorable when he summons the young and promising from the family circle, as he did in the case of the late Joseph G. Anderson, a young business man of Springfield who was apparently starting on a successful and brilliant career. Mr. Anderson was born in Wichita, Kansas, on December 8, 1885. He was a son of William John and Rachel (Gilbert) Anderson. The father was born in New York and he came west to Kansas when a young man and learned the trade of designing and decorating, which he followed most of his life. He had been educated in the common schools of New York. His death occurred in November, 1906, in Springfield, Missouri at the age of sixty-six years. The mother of our subject was a native of Kansas, and she is living in Springfield at this writing. Three children were born to these parents, namely: Joseph G., our subject; Christ, who lives in Springfield; and Maude, who makes her home in St. Louis. Joseph G. Anderson came to Springfield with his parents at the age of eight years, and here he attended the ward and high schools, also the Southwest Business College, taking advantage of his spare hours at night to advance his business education. He worked a year for Otto Holmes, the decorator, and learned this trade in the meanwhile, and he devoted the rest of his life to decorating and sign painting, building up a lucrative and successful business. He first started a shop on Boonville street, paying only five dollars a month rent, but he gradually worked up a large business, handling most of the extensive sign work and bill-poster work, also pictorial sign work, under the firm name of the Anderson Sign Company, and was thus actively engaged at the time of his death, in 1914, at his home on North Campbell street. Politically, he was a Republican. He belonged to the Improved Order of Red Men and to the Master Painters organization. Mr. Anderson was married, April 10, 1910, to Edna McCartney, a daughter of John William and Alice (Crail) McCartney. The father was born on April 24, 1844, in Cumberland county, Illinois, from which state he came to Springfield, Missouri, in 1893, where he still resides. He is a son of John and Susanna (Powell) McCartney. John McCartney, Sr., was born and reared in Virginia, and he came to Ohio with his parents, Daniel and Polly Ann McCartney, at the age of twenty years, the family locating in Lawrenceville county. He operated a flatboat on the Ohio to New Orleans and back. He moved to Illinois in 1836, where he followed farming until his death. He entered one hundred and sixty acres at twelve and one-half cents per acre, and later added another one hundred and sixty acres of government land, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Later he bought forty acres from the Illinois Central Railroad Company, for which he paid twelve dollars and fifty cents per acre, making him a total of three hundred and sixty acres. He carried on general farming in a successful manner until his death, August 5, 1888, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, on the farm which he cleared and developed. He took an interest in public affairs and served his community as justice of the peace for many years. He was a stanch Democrat and was a member of the Missionary Baptist church. His family consisted of nine children, only three of whom are now living, namely George and Nancy, both of Cumberland county, Illinois, and John W., who lives in Springfield, Missouri. The last named was educated in the common schools in Illinois, studied medicine and practiced his profession in Cumberland county, that state, also at Toledo and Newton, Illinois. He came to Springfield, Missouri, in 1893, where, owing to failing health, he has lived practically retired. He was mayor of Toledo, Illinois, for one term, and was chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of Cumberland county, that state, for four years, and was a member of the city council of Toledo for a period of fifteen years. He was a prominent man in public life there. He has belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1873. He was manager of a sanitarium for two years in Springfield, Missouri. After discontinuing the practice of medicine he entered the secret service department of the government under E. G. Rathburn, chief of the service. He remained in this work seven years, resigning before coming to Missouri. He is a member of the Grant Street Baptist church. Mrs. Alice (Crail) McCartney was born in Shelby county, Indiana, is still living at the family home on North Campbell street. She is an active member of the Baptist church. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. John McCartney, three of whom died in infancy. The others are Frank, who lives in Kansas; Mrs. Mattie Dodds, of Springfield; Walter, of Springfield; Clarence, of Springfield; Mrs. Ethel Emmons lives in Arkansas; Edna, widow of Mr. Anderson, the immediate subject of this sketch; and Mrs. Pauline Lodge, of Springfield. Mrs. Anderson received a good common school education. She is a member of the Grant Street Baptist church. PAUL E. ANDREW. The life of the professional man seldom exhibits any of those striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and attract attention to himself. His character is generally made up of the aggregate qualities and qualifications he may possess, as these may be elicited by the exercise of the duties of his vocation or the particular profession to which he belongs. But when such a man has so impressed his individuality upon his fellow men as to gain their confidence and through that confidence rises to important public trust he at once becomes a conspicuous figure in the body politic of the community. Paul E. Andrew, superintendent of the schools of Walnut Grove, is one of the deserving young men of Greene county, who, not content to hide his talents in life's sequestered ways, has by the force of will and a laudable ambition forged to the front in a responsible and exacting calling and earned an honorable reputation in one of the most important branches of public service. His life has been one of hard study and research, and the position to which he has attained while so young a man is evidence that the qualities he possesses afford the means of distinction under a system of government in which places of usefulness and honor are open to all who may be found worthy of them. Mr. Andrew was born, September 28, 1887, seven miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri. He is a son of O. L. and Laura (Shinpaugh) Andrew, the latter a daughter of H. H. and Maggie Shinpaugh, her people removing from Tennessee to this section of Missouri in an early day. O. L. Andrew was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, and there he grew to manhood and received a common school education, including a business course at Carlinville, that state. He came to Missouri when a young man and began his career as farmer seven miles southwest of Springfield, where he continued to reside engaged in general farming until 1913, when he removed to Exeter, California, where he now resides. He owns forty acres there, four acres of which include peaches and apricots, the rest of the farm being in alfalfa, six and eight crops being harvested each year. Politically, he is a Republican. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America there. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. Paul E. Andrew only child of his parents, grew to manhood on the home farm in Greene county and assisted his father with the general farm duties when he became of proper age. He received his early education in the rural schools, then came to Springfield and entered the high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1907, then entered Drury College, and received the degree of Bachelor of Science from that institution in 1911. He attended three summer sessions at the Springfield State Normal, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1914. He made a splendid record for scholarship in all three of these institutions and thus became well equipped for his chosen life work--that of educator. He was principal of the high school at Miller for two years, then was chosen superintendent of the Walnut Grove schools, the important duties of which position he has discharged during the past two years in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of the board and patrons and he has been popular with his pupils. He has done much to give Walnut Grove a better, stronger and more modern school system, being a man of progressive methods and advanced ideas quick to adopt the new when he deems it best, but using due discretion in laying aside the old. On December 27, 1909, Mr. Andrew was united in marriage with Edna Suavely, a young lady of education and refinement, and a daughter of J. Edward and Ida Suavely, a well-known family of Springfield. After graduating from the Aurora high school, Mrs. Andrew attended Drury College, later the Normal in Springfield, from which she was graduated in 1910, after which she taught one year in the Marshfield high school, at Marshfield, Webster county. She is now teaching English and Latin in the Walnut Grove high school, and is regarded as an efficient and successful instructor. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew has resulted in the birth of one child, Jewel Cyrene, born March 24, 1912. Politically, Mr. Andrew is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Miller, also to Lodge No. 569, Masonic Order, at that town. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church at Springfield. He and Mrs. Andrew have made a host of friends since coming to Walnut Grove. GEORGE WASHINGTON ANTHONY. The biographies of representative men of a city and county bring to light many hidden treasures of the mind, character and courage, well calculated to arouse the pride of the family and of the community, and it is a source of regret that the people are not more familiar with the personal history of such men, in the ranks of whom may be found tillers of the soil, mechanics,, teachers, professional men, business men and those of varied vocations. George Washington Anthony, well known among the business element of Springfield, where he has resided many decades, is one of the creditable representatives of the class of men who do things and as such he has made his influence felt in the locality of which this history treats and earned a name for enterprise, integrity and honor. Mr. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts, September 10, 1839. He is a son of Abram and Eunice (Eddy) Anthony, the father also born in the above named city and state, while the mother was a native of the state of New York. Abram Anthony devoted his life to farming and lumbering, and owned a large area of timbered land, and he had several mills. One of the principal mills was on the site of the present noted Renfrew Gingham Works started over fifty years ago. He spent his life at Adams and died there when past his eighty-sixth birthday. Politically, he was a Republican, and was a worker for temperance. His family consisted of ten children, all still living but two, namely: Henry died at the age of sixty-five; Charles L., George W., of this sketch; Edwin A., James, whose sketch appears on another page of this work; Hannah M., Amelia A., Susan and Albert; the other one died in early life. George W. Anthony grew to manhood in his native state; his early school days were interrupted as he had to work with his father, but nothing daunted, he obtained his education after he was twenty-four years old, having attended school at Lynnsborough, Massachusetts, which was a boarding school. In the fall of 1865 he went to the state of Alabama and operated- a sawmill there the following winter, was superintendent of the mill and made good money there. Leaving there in the summer of 1866 he came to Liberty, Clay county, Missouri, where two of his brothers lived, both being engaged in the tobacco business, and our subject worked for them awhile, finally coming to Springfield, this state, and he and his two brothers bought a factory site of a Mr. Porter, in 1867, and here the three brothers soon engaged in the tobacco business, which gradually grew to large proportions and in which our subject is still engaged. With the three brothers, George McCann formed a partnership which continued until 1873, when it was dissolved, our subject owning land on St. Louis street and started in the tobacco business by himself in January, 1874, and is still operating this business, dealing in smoking tobacco only, having abandoned the manufacture of plug tobacco a number of years ago. His principal brand in the latter was the "Royal Gem," and "Old Bachelor" is his most famous brand of smoking tobacco. It has been sold over a very wide territory and is a favorite with all smokers who have used it. Mr. Anthony understands thoroughly ever phase of this business and his plant is equipped in an up-to-date manner and only skilled artisans are employed. He is one of the most widely known men in the tobacco world in the Middle West and has made a great success in this field of endeavor. Besides his plant he also owns: a large and attractive home on St. Louis street. Politically Mr. Anthony is a Republican and has been more or less active in local public affairs during his long residence in the Queen City, in which he was a member of the city council several years ago. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias, with which he is no longer affiliated. He is an active member of Calvary Presbyterian church, in which he has been, an elder for over thirty years, and he was formerly a deacon in the same. Mr. Anthony has been twice married, first, in April, 1868, to Sylvia A. Sales, who was a native of Adams, Massachusetts. Her death occurred in 1875. In December, 1877, Mr. Anthony married Mary L. Dean, who was born in Adams, Massachusetts, and is a daughter of Dallas J. and Henrietta Dean. To this second marriage two children were born, namely: Sylvia Carrie, who lives at home, and Dallas Dean, who is engaged in farming; he married Ida Phillips, a native of Greene county. JAMES ANTHONY. The career of James Anthony, formerly engaged in the tobacco business for many years in Springfield, and now employed as a clerk in the local post office, illustrates most happily for the purpose of this work the fact that if a young man possesses the proper attributes of mind and heart, he can, unaided, attain to a position of unmistakable precedence, and gain for himself an honored position among the men who are factors in shaping the destinies of the community in which he lives. His life proves that the only true success in this world is that which is accomplished by personal c art and consecutive industry, by honesty and a straightforward, unassuming attitude toward those with whom he comes into contact. Mr. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts, May 12, 1843. He is a son Of Abraham and Eunice (Eddy) Anthony, the former born in that vicinity also, but the mother was a native of the state of New York. Abraham Anthony grew up in his native community and there spent his life, engaged in general farming and lumbering, owning considerable timbered land and operating a number of saw mills. He was a Republican and an influential man in his community and was a pronounced enemy of intemperance. He lived to be nearly eighty-seven years of age. His family consisted of ten children, two of whom are deceased; those living are: Charles L., George W., whose sketch appears elsewhere in these pages; Ed win A., James, of this review; Hannah M., Amelia A., Susan, and Albert. James Anthony grew to manhood in his native community and there he assisted his father with his work when a boy, attending the public schools during the winter, later studying two years in a boarding school at Lanesborough, Massachusetts. Believing the West held greater opportunities than the old Bay state, he came to Liberty, Clay county, Missouri, in March, 1866, and began in the tobacco business. Later he made a trip by mule team to Junction City, Kansas, also returned overland to Missouri, where he remained a year in the tobacco business also handling cattle, then made the overland journey to Springfield in 1867 and this has been his residence ever since. During this long period, he has seen a village grow into an important city. Here he and his two brothers engaged in the tobacco business, in partnership with George McCann, and enjoyed an extensive and thriving trade, the partnership continuing until 1873, when it was dissolved, but our subject remained in this field of endeavor until 1887, when he operated a cigar store for two or three years, after which he traveled on the road many years, representing different wholesale houses, giving satisfactory service to each. Later he went into the real estate business which his industry and tact made a success. In 1890 he was appointed mail clerk in the Springfield post office, and this position he has retained to the present time. His period of faithful service covering nearly a quarter of a century, is certainly evidence of his fidelity and honesty as well as ability, giving satisfaction all the while to the post office department of our government which is somewhat exacting in these matters. Very few men living in Springfield have remained in one position so long, and few there are anywhere who have been so long in government service. A noteworthy fact is that he has worked here fifteen years without a vacation. Mr. Anthony was married October 1, 1870, to Hannah E. Lisenby, who was born in Jonesboro, Tennessee, February, 18, 1850. She is a daughter .of Charles and Susan (Carr) Lisenby, the father, a native of Tennessee and the mother a native of North Carolina. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Anthony, three of whom are living, namely: Dell, born November 22, 1871, married Dr. P. O. Hanford; Harry, born January 2, 1874, died April 21, of that year; Robert L., born September 18, 1876, participated in the Spanish-American war, and died July 21, 1900; Helen F., born July 31, 1883, is the wife of Earl Seaman, of Springfield; James P., born June 28, 1885, is single and makes his home in Colorado Springs; Eunice S., born January 23, 1891, died August 11, 1893. Politically, Mr. Anthony is a Republican, but while loyal to his party and interested in public matters, he has never been an active politician. He has a pleasant home on South Jefferson street. FREDERICK W. ARMSTRONG. Mr. Armstrong was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, January 13, 1868. He is a son of William F. and Minerva P. (Simmons) Armstrong, the former born in Ireland, April 11, 1830, and the latter in Hillsboro, Illinois, January 7, 1837. In that state she grew to womanhood, was educated in the common schools and she and Mr. Armstrong were married in the town of Hillsboro. Her death occurred December 17, 1901. William F. Armstrong spent his early years in his native land and there attended school, and when a young man he set sail across the broad Atlantic for American shores and located in Hillsboro, Illinois. He was a carpenter and contractor, which line of endeavor he followed during his active life, except when in military service. Upon the first call for troops by President Lincoln to put down the Southern Confederacy in April, 1861, Mr. Armstrong enlisted in Company E, Ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and he proved to be such a brave and excellent soldier that he was promoted from private through the various subordinate ranks to that of major, and was a successful and dashing officer, taking part in many important campaigns, battles and skirmishes. He was many times wounded, receiving a severe wound at the battle of Shiloh, and he carried five bullets to the grave in his body. He served not only in the Civil war, but in some of the campaigns against the hostile Indians of the West, and was in the United States army in all nearly five years. After leaving the army he returned to Hillsboro, where his death occurred April 17, 1868. Politically he was a strong Republican. He belonged to the Masonic Order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His family consisted of four children, namely: Tom W., a Springfield plumber, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; Elizabeth is deceased; Samuel, the eldest lives in Hillsboro, Illinois, and Frederick W., of this sketch. Mr. Armstrong of this sketch grew to manhood in Hillsboro, Illinois, and there he received his education in the common schools, working at odd times in a grocery store before leaving school, and when fourteen years old he began working at the carpenter's trade, but after following it for one summer he turned his attention to the plumbing business, serving an apprenticeship and became an efficient workman in due course of time. He remained in his native town in this work until 1899, when he came to Springfield, Missouri, where he has since resided. He was in partnership with his brother, Tom W. Armstrong. He has done a great deal of work of this nature throughout the city, often turning out large contracts. He has kept well up in his line in every respect and employed capable assistants so that his jobs have always been satisfactory. He has been the official plumbing inspector of the city of Springfield during the past four years and discharged the duties of this important post in a manner highly satisfactory to all concerned. He retired from this office April 15, 1915, and at the present time is engaged in the grocery business for himself at the corner of National boulevard and Kearney street, where he is enjoying a good trade. Mr. Armstrong was married in Hillsboro, Illinois, December 29, 1895, to Minnie B. Follis, who was born in that city January 24, 1872. She is a daughter of Joseph and Rachael (Roach) Follis, the father a native of Kentucky and the mother of Illinois. Mrs. Armstrong is one of three children. Two children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Tom Jr., born October 18, 1897, and Minnie M., born May 5, 1906. Politically our subject is a Republican. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Knights and Ladies of Security, the Woodmen, and the Tribe of Ben-Hur. He is a Member of the Methodist Episcopal church. TOM W. ARMSTRONG. The methods used now by modern plumbers are in many respects vastly different from those in general use when Tom W. Armstrong began this vocation over thirty-five years ago. During that period he has followed the calling continuously and has kept well abreast of the times in the same and today is one of the most efficient as well as one of the best known plumbers in Springfield, where he has spent a quarter of a century. Mr. Armstrong was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, February 11, 1863. He is a son of William F. and Minerva P. (Simmons) Armstrong, the father born in Ireland, April 11, 1830, where he spent his boyhood and from which country he emigrated to the United States when a young man. He located in Hillsboro, Illinois where he spent the rest of his life and died on April 18, i867. He was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, serving in Company E, Ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in the spring of 1861 at Lincoln's first call for volunteers. He proved to be a gallant and efficient soldier and was promoted to the rank of major. He served four years and nine months. He was severely wounded at the battle of Shiloh. Remaining in the army some time after the close of the war he had occasion to take part in some of the Indian wars of the West. He was in many engagements and important campaigns and the fact that he went to the grave carrying five bullets in his body indicates that he was not afraid to mix in the fiercest of the fighting. He was a carpenter and contractor by trade, which he followed until his death. He was a strong Republican, and fraternally belonged to the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife was born in 1835, in Hillsboro, Illinois, and they were married in Hillsboro, Illinois. Her death occurred in December, 1900. Four children were born to these parents, namely: Samuel lives in Hillsboro, Illinois; Tom W. of this sketch; Elizabeth is deceased, and Frederick W., who lives in Springfield, Missouri, is at this writing plumbing inspector of the city. Tom W. Armstrong grew to manhood in his native city and he received a common school education there. On September 6, 1913, he married Mettie E. Bowers, who was born in Chicago. When fifteen years old Mr. Armstrong began learning the plumber's trade in his native city and served as an apprentice two years, then in 1881 went to Abilene, Kansas, where he worked at his trade nine years, moving from there to Springfield, Missouri, March 31, 1890. He went in partnership with a Mr. Shearer on North Boonville street, which partnership continued for ten years. Since that time he has been engaged in business for himself, his present shop and office being located at 206 East Olive street where he has a well equipped shop and display rooms, carrying a large stock of modern fixtures and a general plumbing outfit. He has been very successful in his line and has built up a large business throughout the city. He handles some large contracts and is always busy, keeping a number of skilled assistants. Politically, Mr. Armstrong is a Republican. He has been a member of the Knights of Pythias since the day he was twenty-one years old. He also belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. R. L. ARNETT. R. L. Arnett was born in Fredericktown, in southeastern Missouri, on February 2, 1881. He is a son of R. C. and Fanny (Layman) Arnett. The father was also born at Fredericktown, February 5, 1849, his parents having been pioneer settlers there. The mother of our subject was born in Piqua, Ohio,. December 21, 1853. She came to Fredericktown, Missouri, when young and there met and married the elder Arnett, who devoted his life to general farming, although he never lived on a farm. Politically, R. C. Arnett was a Democrat was an influential man in public affairs in his native locality, having represented his county several times in the state legislature. His family consisted of five children, all sons, and all still living, namely: Smith D. lives in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Sam R. lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota; R. L. of this sketch; Eugene F. is in the train service and is located at Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Alexander W. is attending Columbia University at this writing. R. L. Arnett grew up at Fredericktown, where he obtained a good common and high school education. When only thirteen years of age he was enabled to begin the career he had long aspired to, that of railroading, and he has kept it up to the present time, his rise being gradual, and he evidently has greater things to yet accomplish in this field of endeavor. He began work for the Missouri Pacific before leaving school and continued at intervals with this road until he finished school, then went in the office as clerk in his native town. With the exception of a few months spent in the employ of other lines, he has remained continuously with the Missouri Pacific, having in the meanwhile been nearly all over the system, in various departments of this road. In September, 1908, he was promoted to commercial freight agent, in Ft. Scott, Kansas, and in November, 1909, he was sent to Springfield, where he is now occupying the same position. He is a young man of energy, tact, versatility and honesty of purpose and his superiors place great confidence in his ability and integrity. Mr. Arnett was married, April 23, 1903, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to Anna Lee Green, a native of that city, where she was reared and educated, later attending Ouachita College at Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She is a daughter of Thomas and Disda Green. To Mr. and Mrs. Arnett one child has been born, Roeanna, whose birth occurred July 11, 1905. Politically, Mr. Arnett is a Democrat. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also the Hoo Hoo or Black Cat fraternity. He is a member of the Springfield Club and the Country Club. DR. J. LEROY ATHERTON. As we stand amidst the wonders of modern achievements and take a cursory glance over the factors that make up the sum total of the highest civilization the world has known since the age of Pericles, one factor looms forth conspicuously--the art of healing. Some even in their enthusiasm claim that it is above all the rest. This may not seem plausible to many in view of the fact that such great progress has been made in the mechanical sciences, which is more closely allied with our every-day life and is therefore more generally understood and appreciated. Whereas the study of the ills of the flesh is restricted to a proportionately small number of students. However, the progress in the art of healing has been somewhat remarkable during the past half century. One of the younger generation of physicians of Greene county is Dr. J. LeRoy Atherton, who has been unusually successful in the practice of his Profession, and that he deserves the good fortune that has attended his efforts is indisputable. Doctor Atherton was born in Illinois, February 13, 1879. He is a son of Aaron S. Atherton, a native of Ohio, a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, who followed his profession until his health began to fail in 1883 when he located on a farm in Vernon county, Missouri, later removing to Nevada, this state, where he resumed preaching and continued at this work for about five years, practically doing charity work, filling various pulpits without recompense. His death occurred in the city of Nevada about 1902, after a long and useful life. He was highly esteemed by all who knew him for his many fine characteristics and he ranked high as a preacher. His wife, mother of our subject, was known in her maidenhood as Mary Sanders, and she traces her ancestry back to Holland. She is still living in Nevada. Milton Atherton, paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Ohio. In his later life he removed with his family to Vernon county, Missouri, where his death occurred when about seventy-eight years of age. His progenitors were very early settlers in New England from which country they came to Ohio in pioneer days. From Ohio the family removed to Illinois when that state was still a wild unimproved prairie. The older members of this sterling old family were typical pioneers and liked the wild frontier life best of all. To Rev. Aaron S. Atherton and wife the following children were born: S. M. Atherton, Waldron Arkansas; Mary E. Atherton, deceased; Ruth E. Pheils, Nevada, Missouri; Aaron E. Atherton, Dover, Oklahoma; Joseph R. Atherton, Nevada, Missouri; Gilbert H. Atherton, Girard, Kansas; J. LeRoy Atherton, Springfield, and Agnes S. Johnson, Nevada, Missouri. Dr. J. LeRoy Atherton received his early education in the public schools and later studied at Baker University in Kansas, after which he began the study of medicine at the Bennett Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, where he made a good record, and was graduated with the class of 1912. Soon thereafter he began the practice of his profession in Chicago Where he got a good start and remained in that city until January 1, 1915, when he came to Springfield, Missouri, opening an office with a view of remaining here permanently. He has started out well in his new location, his patients gradually increasing all the while. He is a member of the Greene County Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order, including the Chapter, Royal Arch Masons and Council. On December 18, 1909, he was united in marriage with Dr. Mary Jean McLaggan, who was born in Chesley, Ontario, Canada. She grew to womanhood in her native province and received her early education at Toronto, later taking the course at the Bennett Medical College in Chicago, from which she was graduated with the class of 1912, and a few months later began practicing in that city with her husband, and since coming to Springfield she has continued the practice of her profession with gratifying results. A separate and complete sketch will be found of her on another page of this volume. The union of our subject and wife has been without issue. Doctor Atherton is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished in the face of obstacles. He is a self-educated and self-made man. He has earned his own living since he was seventeen years of age. He worked hard during vacations to get money to defray the expenses of a higher education. Learning something of civil engineering he followed that for the most part between terms of school, but was not above doing any kind of work to earn an honest dollar. DR. MARY JEAN McLAGGAN ATHERTON. If one cares to take the time to examine works on the early races of mankind he will be surprised to learn how profoundly ignorant those early peoples were regarding the anatomy of the human organism and how very little they knew of the art of healing, in fact, they believed that the sick were possessed of evil spirits and that they could not be dispersed by any means except, incantations. Many centuries elapsed before the thinking Greeks established something of a science in the treatment of diseases and began studying plants, advocating the theory that certain ones possessed medicinal properties. This placed the study of the human organism upon a scientific basis, and since that remote age many theories have been advanced, little actual progress being made, however, up to a century or two ago. The last two decades have witnessed remarkable strides and new discoveries are daily being made. It seems that there remains yet a very great deal to be discovered if humanity is to cease suffering by reason of the "ills to which flesh is heir." Many women have of late years been studying and practicing medicine in its various branches, with success equal to the men. One of these is Mrs. Mary Jean McLaggan Atherton, of Springfield, whose record is that of a skilled, sympathetic practitioner, cheerful in the sick room, and, possessing the happy faculty of winning the confidence of her patients, which has much to do with their restoration to health. She was born on May 28, 1882, in the Province of Ontario, Canada. She is a daughter of John and Catherine (Munn) McLaggan, both natives of Scotland, from which country they came to Ontario when young and were married there and established their home on a farm near the town of Peterborough. It was in 1852 that he left his native land and settled in Canada. When old age came on he retired from active work on his farm. He had accumulated a comfortable competency by his industry, and he and his wife are living at this writing in Chesley, Ontario. To these parents the following children were, born: FIorence Able, Chicago; Isabel, Ashelford, Toronto, Ontario; Alexander McLaggan, Saskatchewan, Canada; Catherine Broughton, Toronto, Ontario; Peter McLaggan, Vancouver, British Columbia; John McLaggan, Metiskow, Alberta; Mary Jean Atherton, Springfield, Mo.; Elizabeth McLaggan, Chesley, Ontario, and Martha McIntyre Chicago. Peter McLaggan, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in Scotland where he grew up and married Isabella Fisher, also a native of that country, and there they resided until 1852 when they emigrated to Canada and established their home at Peterborough, Ontario, where they both died a year later of Asiatic cholera. Mrs. Dr. Atherton grew to womanhood in her native locality and received her early education in the common schools and at Harbord Collegiate Institute, at Toronto, Canada, from which she was graduated with the class of 1899; she attended the Toronto Normal College for Teachers in 1900, and was a teacher in the Chicago Public School until 1908. In 1908 she entered the Bennett Medical College, at Chicago, Illinois, making an excellent record and graduating therefrom in the spring of 1912. On December 18, 1909, our subject was united in marriage with Dr. Leroy Atherton, who was a native of Illinois who attended the above mentioned medical college at the time our subject was a student there and they were graduates of the same class. They both began practicing in Chicago, she in the fall of 1913 and there continued with success until their removal to Springfield, Missouri, January 1, 1915, where she has continued the practice of her profession, building up a large practice which is rapidly growing. A complete sketch of her husband will be found in another part of this volume. Mrs. Dr. Atherton is a member of the Chicago Medical Society and is a member of the Calvary Presbyterian church of Springfield. JAMES O. ATTEBERRY. Cultivation of the soil began with the desire on the part of the cultivator to destroy weeds or plants not desired that were likely to crowd out and injure the ones in which he was interested. But we now know that the destruction of weeds is a matter of very secondary importance. We now cultivate to conserve moisture and to promote chemical and biological activity. Our viewpoint has changed greatly with increased knowledge, yet it is a fact that we do not do all we might in this direction. We do not stir the soil during rainless periods as frequently as we should, or we do not do it at the time we should and allow valuable moisture to escape. It must be borne in mind that it is often quite as important to do a thing at the right time as it is to do it at all. One of the successful farmers of Clay township, Greene county, is James O. Atteberry, who not only seems to know how to carry on the various departments of modern agriculture, but when to do a thing and when not to do it. Mr. Atteberry was born in Cassville, Barry county, Missouri, January 30, 1861. He is a son of John B. and Mary E. (Bills) Atteberry. The father was born in Tennessee, January 30, 1830, on the banks of the famous Cumberland river, and there he spent the first nine years of his life, then his parents brought him to Dallas county, Missouri, where he grew to manhood on a farm and there received a common school education. He worked for his father until he was twenty-one years of age, then bought a farm of eighty acres. He learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed in connection with farming. Then went to Barry county, where he owned a blacksmith shop for some time. Later he went to Springfield where he followed his trade and at which he was engaged at the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Federal army and was kept busy as a blacksmith for some time by his general and later drove a team for his regiment. After the close of the war he returned to Dallas county, where he lived until his son James O. was fourteen years old, then came back to Springfield and resumed blacksmithing, at which he was quite expert. About five years later he moved back to Dallas county and bought a farm of eighty acres, which he operated about seven years, then moved back to Springfield, where he has resided to the present time, and is still active. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Christian church. He had natural talent as a musician and when a young man taught vocal music, conducting singing schools. His wife, Mary F. Bills, was born in Tennessee, October 8, 1836, and was reared in that state and in Missouri, having been seven years of age when her parents brought her to Dallas county, making the overland journey in wagons, experiencing numerous hardships. The family located on a farm and there Mrs. Atteberry was reared. She has known what hard work meant wove and spun in her earlier years and made clothes, the last suit she made having been for the sheriff of Greene county. She is a member of the Christian church and has long been a great church worker. To these parents thirteen children have been born, namely: Mrs. Eliza Jane Woodle is deceased; Mrs. Ruth Davidson lives in Springfield; James O. of this sketch, and George, who lives in Christian county, Missouri, are twins; Elsie is living in the West; Daniel lives in Springfield; Mrs. Francis Welch lives in Christian county; Mrs. Laura Fishel lives in Springfield; Mrs. Etta Lawing lives in St. Joseph, Missouri; Mrs. Blanche Pritchard lives in Oklahoma City; the three youngest children died in infancy. James O. Atteberry spent his early boyhood on the home farm in Dallas county, where he worked during the crop seasons and in the winter time attended the common schools. When fourteen years of age he hired out on farms in Greene county, working thus until he was twenty-two years of age, when he married Mary E. McCorkle, and rented a farm for several years, then moved to Christian county, where he rented land for fourteen years, also bought a farm of one hundred and ten acres which joined the farm he rented. In connection with general farming he raised cattle and hogs in large numbers, also sheep. Finally selling out, he bought then farm where he is now living in Clay township, Greene county, which consists of one hundred and forty-five acres and is well improved and productive, one of the best in this part of the county. In connection with general farming he is successfully operating a dairy. Mr. Atteberry's wife was born in Greene county, October 8, 1859. When three years old her parents brought her to the place where she is now living. She received a good common school education, and when eighteen years old began teaching and taught two years in the rural schools. She is a daughter of Neely and Catherine (Rainey) McCorkle. She is a member of the Christian church. To Mr. and Mrs. Atteberry eight children have been born, namely: George A. is living in Greene county; Elmer is deceased; Neely J. lives in Springfield; Mrs. Mary Snyder lives in Greene county; Stanley lives at home; Lemuel lives in Greene county; Mrs. Birdie Jones lives at home with her parents; Nellie is married and lives in Clay township, Greene county, Missouri. Politically, Mr. Atteberry is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Maccabees. He belongs to the Christian church. GEORGE ALBERT ATWOOD. Truly one of nature's noblemen was the late George Albert Atwood, one of the most prominent journalists and experts on horticultural and agricultural subjects that southern Missouri and eastern Kansas has ever known, and withal a citizen of high ideals and wholesome life. As to his character one can truly say that he was a sturdy type of a true man, firm in resolution, strong in conviction, helpful to his fellowman. Among the numerous commendable qualities which stood out in his character were business integrity, fidelity to trusts, reposed in him, a deep love of nature in her various forms and family devotion. A thinker and philosopher he knew that difficulties confronted men in every occupation, that every man has his troubles and adversities, but he believed that these things were necessary to develop the best qualities in us; that man's necessity was ever the incentive to prompt him to seek out a better way of doing things, a way to overcome, that cheerfulness and optimism would help him find a way, when gloom and despair would only aid in sinking him under the load. So he tried to remain cheerful, and, also knowing that man cannot stand still, must either make progress or retrograde, he always looked toward the heights, keeping in mind the motto, "There is no excellence without great labor." His life was an open sesame with all the simple sincerity that belongs to great-souled men. George Albert Atwood was born in Barnard, Vermont, January 15, 1840, the fourth in a family of ten children. He was the son of George Hammond and Mary N. (Culver) Atwood, the father a descendant of William Penn and the mother of Samuel Adams. George Hammond Atwood was the son of Ebenezer Atwood. His parents were honest, industrious New England people, and spent their lives on a farm in Vermont, on which their son George Albert Atwood was reared to manhood, and on which he worked during the summer months when he became of proper age. By dint of hard work under many disadvantages in the rural schools, by alternately attending school and teaching school, he obtained a good foundation for the fine education which he finally obtained by persistent home study and contact with the world. He studied at Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, and Oswego Business College of Oswego, New York. When the war between the states came on he proved his patriotism and courage by enlisting in the Union army in 1862, in Company B, Twelfth Vermont Volunteer Militia, receiving honorable discharge after nine months' service. He then left the home farm to carve out his own career in the world, and was appointed to a clerkship in the United States treasury department, which position he held for two years in a highly acceptable manner, and was in Washington when President Lincoln was assassinated and shared in the intense excitement that tragedy occasioned. Being ambitious to do something and to be something, he resigned his position as clerk, seeing that there was no chance for advancement, and returned to Vermont in 1866, where he farmed a year and in 1867 started out West, where he thought to find larger opportunities, and the remainder of life was spent, the major part of it at least, west of the Father of Waters, with only occasional visits to his New England home, to which he was always devotedly attached. He first located in Adel, Iowa, and there his long editorial career began, publishing the Adel Gazette, and served a term as postmaster at that place. Leaving there he went to Kansas, where he spent seventeen years in newspaper business. He published successively the Ellsworth Reporter, the Western Magazine of Lawrence, the Manhattan Republic, and the Daily Evening Press of Leavenworth. In all of these ventures he was successful, being a man of keen foresight, executive and editorial ability, and he did much through his publications for the upbuilding of Kansas in her earlier history, and was recognized as one of the leading journalists of that state, was widely known and his opinions and advice were constantly sought by the leading public men of the Sunflower State in those days. During these years he served a term in the Kansas state legislature with satisfaction to his constituents. This was in 1875-76. At that time he was also in charge of Fort Harker, an abandoned military post, now known as Kanopolis, having received this appointment in 1875. He held this position two years when the reservation was opened up for settlement. Here it was that he distributed by appointment, government clothing to the sufferers from the memorable grasshopper scourge in that dreadful season of 1875-76. And in 1880 he was appointed a member of the commission to appraise the United States military reservation of Fort Harker. Subsequently being somewhat broken in health, under the advice of physicians all moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he bought an interest in the Grand Forks Plaindealer. The rigor of the climate proving too severe, he disposed of his interests there and went to Florida, intending to make that state his permanent home. But after repeated freezes of the orange groves he had planted, and but little success with his vineyards, he returned to Grand Forks and established an agricultural paper, the Northern Farmer. This he sold as soon as it was placed on a good footing. And when a warmer climate lured him again he came to southwest Missouri. He had owned a farm near Neosho for several years. This may have had some influence in his derision. He was captivated by the country and its wonderful possibilities. In this faith he came to Springfield in 1893, where the rest of his life was spent, and started a horticultural journal, the Southwest, later known as the Practical Fruit Grower. In the interest of this publication he traveled extensively over the Ozark region, and met and interviewed more fruit men, probably, than any other man in southern Missouri, acquiring a knowledge of facts and conditions that made him an authority in matters horticultural. He bought an eighty acre farm in Arkansas and set practically all of it out in peaches, and at Garber, Taney county, Missouri, he planted a pear orchard. He superintended the planting of the extensive orchard and vineyard on the grounds belonging to the Maine Fishing and Hunting Club, near Branson, in Taney county. Under his expert direction all these orchards and vineyards proved highly successful. His candid opinion was constantly sought by growers and orchardists for advice and it was always freely and gladly given and was invariably followed with gratifying results. He was prime mover in the organization of the Ozark Fruit Growers' Association, which is one of the largest organizations, of its kind in the Southwest, and has done much to better general conditions of the horticulturists of this section of the country. He also assisted in forming many local societies. He was one of the most active and prominent members of the Greene County Horticultural Society, of which he was at one time president. In addition to being directly connected with these associations, Mr. Atwood took an active part in every movement where the farmer and the fruit growers were interested, his opinions on all subjects being accepted as coming from an authority. He was for some time editor of the farm page of the weekly edition of the Springfield Leader. By reason of his experience he was appointed superintendent of the Missouri fruit exhibit at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha, Nebraska. In this capacity he also served at the annual state fairs held at Sedalia, Missouri, and he was appointed by Governor Folk as a delegate from this state to the seventeenth National Irrigation Congress held at Spokane, Washington, in August, 1909. Mr. Atwood was a personal friend of a number of the leading men of the nation, including Gen. Nelson A. Miles and Senators Plum and John J. Ingalls. From these celebrities and many others he received numerous letters while engaged in newspaper work in Kansas. He also carried letters of recommendation from Governors Burke of North Dakota; Humphrey of Kansas and Governor Morrill, of Iowa. Among the many interesting letters he received was one which Mrs. Atwood justly prizes more than all. It is a letter and an original poem from Alice Cary, America's most famous poetess. The poem is entitled "My Native Hills," and contains six verses in the usual fine swing and imagery of that gifted writer. It was purchased by Mr. Atwood and published in the Gazette in Adel, Iowa. The letter and poem were written in the bold, legible handwriting of Alice Cary, and in the letter which was written from New York City, she tells Mr. Atwood that she usually received from twenty-five dollars to fifty dollars for such verses, but in view of the fact that he was starting a new publication, she asked only ten dollars for them. This was in 1867. Mr. Atwood was married in 1865 to Rosa Ward, of Montpelier, Vermont, where she grew to womanhood and received a good education. She is the daughter of Hezekiah and Adeline (Walbridge) Ward. Mrs. Atwood is a direct descendant of Gen. Artemas Ward, of Revolutionary war fame, and is a woman of many estimable characteristics. They began married life in Washington City. To this union three children were born, Birdie, who lives at home. She has a studio in the Masonic Temple and is an accomplished piano and pipe organ teacher and is the organist at St. Paul Methodist Episcopal church, South. Linnie, who died in infancy, and Ward, who is a linotypist at the Inland Printing Company and also is a photographer of no mean ability. Politically Mr. Atwood was a Republican. When a young man he was an active member of the Masonic Order, but when he came to Springfield he never took up lodge work. He also held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a number of other fraternal organizations, including the Grand Army of the Republic, in none of which he took an especially active interest during the last few years of his life. The death of George Albert Atwood occurred in Springfield on May 2, 1911, at the age of seventy-one years, after an illness of three months. At a regular meeting of the Greene County Horticultural Society, a few days after the death of our subject, the following resolutions were adopted: "Whereas, In the course of Divine Providence, one of our midst useful members, Brother George Albert Atwood, has been removed by death from our midst. We shall miss his presence and wise counsel in the advocacy of a purer and better horticulture. Therefore, be it "Resolved, That we express our deep sorrow and loss, and extend to the bereaved family and friends, our sympathy and condolence, and recommend that this resolution be spread upon the minutes of the society and that a copy be sent to the bereaved family and published in the Springfield papers. Horticulturists could ill afford to lose such men as Mr. Atwood from their ranks. The passing of such a man always leaves sadness and sorrow not only in his immediate family, but among those who know him best. He was an ardent lover of nature and took delight in being among his trees and watching them grow. He was an optimist. He liked to help people. He was pure minded and ambitious. He had the friendship of men of high official rank, and of literary people as well. Genial in character and disposition he made many friends, and was a promoter of peace in every organization with which he was connected. He was devoted to his home and family, and was a kind and affectionate husband and father. He loved life, but when the end came he met it nobly, sweetly--almost his last words being, "Beautiful Life!" JOSEPH GEORGE AUMOTH. No more enterprising, courageous and altogether desirable immigrants come to America from any country of the globe than the Norwegians. They have both the will and ability to do things, are loyal to our government and institutions, faithful and reliable citizens and their coming among us has been mutually helpful. We have furnished them comfortable homes and they have helped develop bur various states and counties. The natural conditions in Norway have ever been such that only a race of people of honesty persistency, tact and fortitude could survive. The art of making a livelihood there is indeed quite different from what it is in the South Sea islands where the natives need not put forth any effort to subsist, merely plucking and eating the fruits Mother Nature furnishes, but in the frigid mountains of Norway it is a constant battle to survive, and this battle develops in her natives the qualities that are necessary to win anywhere in the civilized countries of the world. They were innate in such men as Joseph George Aumoth, who was one of the prominent business men of Springfield, Missouri, in the early period of her development, for many years a wholesale merchant and banker, establishing the very first wholesale house in Springfield. He proved to be one of our best citizens in every respect, even risking his life in the defense of the flag during our great war between the states, and although he has long since been summoned from earthly scenes, his influence on the history of this locality a half century ago will be permanent. Mr. Aumoth was born in Norway, on November 20, 1831. He was a son of Joseph and Elizabeth Aumoth natives of Norway, where they spent their lives, never coming to America. The father of our subject was a ship owner and lived on the coast. Joseph G. Aumoth grew to manhood in Norway and assisted his father when a boy, and he was given splendid educational advantages, being educated by a Lutheran minister. He early manifested a liking for business and had decided talent in that direction, and he worked in a bank in his native land when a young man at the age of eighteen years. Believing that greater opportunities for advancement awaited him in the United States than in his own country, he ran away from home, worked on a ship across the Atlantic ocean to pay for his passage to the new world. His parents were people of means and they sent five hundred dollars to the Norwegian consul at New York, which sum was to be given to their son if he would return home. But he came on west, his first stop being at Chicago, where he worked four months, after which he came to St. Louis where he worked in a hardware store and attended night school, and remained at work there until the commencement of the Civil war when he enlisted in the Missouri State Home Guards to protect the government arsenal at St. Louis, later enlisting in Company C, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, under General Sigel, and served about two and one-half years in a faithful and gallant manner, being promoted from time to time for his meritorious conduct until he had attained the rank of captain at the time of his discharge. He saw considerable hard service, and among the engagements in which he participated was the battle of Pea Creek, battle of Wilson's Creek and siege of Vicksburg, being wounded during the latter by a grape-shot. He was sent to the hospital where he remained nine weeks, after which he was discharged from the service and came to Springfield, Missouri, and engaged in the mercantile business, supplying clothes and other materials to soldiers, etc. He remained in the mercantile business here for twelve years, first as a retail merchant and, as before stated, was the first wholesale merchant. He by nature was a mathematician, an expert accountant and he could add three columns of figures simultaneously of greater length and with more accuracy, than an average man could add one column. He was very successful as a merchant and built up quite an extensive trade. Later he became connected with the Greene County Bank of Springfield as vice-president, which position he held until his death, and the rapid growth of this institution during that period was due for the most part to his judicious counsel, enterprise and keen foresight. Politically, Mr. Aumoth was a Republican. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and religiously he was a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Aumoth was married in St. Louis, December 10, 1866, to Mrs. Margaret (Logan) Morton, a daughter of William B. and Elizabeth (McDowell) Logan. William B. Logan was born in Virginia in 1808 and there grew to manhood and engaged in the mercantile business in the city of Bristol. He remained in his native state until 1845 when he came to Springfield, Missouri, and opened the second store in the town. He sold goods at a reasonable figure while his competitor sold his stock at five times its value. Mr. Logan was well known to the early pioneer settlers of Greene county who admired him for is honesty in dealing with them. He remained here until 1861 when he went to St. Louis, where he lived until 1866, then went to Texas and engaged in business in the town of McKinney until his death in 1887. His widow survived until 1898, dying in Fisher, Texas. His family consisted of ten children. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph G. Aumoth, namely: Nora C., wife of H. B. McDaniel, president of the Union National Bank of Springfield; Josephine, wife of Robert Boyer, one of the well known business men of Springfield, and Paul, who died at the age of three years. The death of Joseph G. Aumoth occurred February 10, 1874, at the age of forty-three years, when in the zenith of his powers as a successful man of affairs. Mrs. Aumoth is living at the attractive family home on St. Louis street, Springfield, now advanced in years, but a well preserved and well informed lady, who has ever enjoyed the friendship of the best people of Springfield. MARTIN AUSHERMAN. One of the early-day business men of, Springfield who was distinctively the architect of his own fortunes was Martin Ausherman, who was true and loyal in all the relations of life and stood as a type of that sterling manhood which ever commands respect and honor. He was a man who would have won his way in any locality where fate might have placed him, for he had sound judgment, coupled with great energy and business tact, together with upright, principles, all of which have ever made for success wherever they have been rightly and persistently applied. By reason of these principles he won and retained a host of friends, who have never ceased to his memory. Mr. Ausherman was born November 1, 1840, in Frederick county, Maryland. He was a son of John and Lydia (Arnold) Ausherman, and was one of thirteen children, all of whom are now deceased. The family was well known in Maryland for many decades, and they were all farmers except our subject who devoted his life to mercantile pursuits. Martin Ausherman grew to manhood in his native state and there assisted with the general work on the farm when a boy and he received his education in the common schools of his native community. Early in life he began his career as a merchant, and remained in Maryland until 1876, when he came to Springfield, Missouri, and opened a grocery store and was very successful, building up a good trade, and he continued in the same until his death. By his first marriage, Mr. Ausherman had one daughter, Eva, who married D. R. Holt and lives in Oklahoma. They have three children. Mr. Ausherman was married on February 20, 1872, to Mary Knox, who was born in Washington county, Maryland. She is a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (McCoy) Knox, natives of Ireland and Maryland, respectively. Mr. Knox was a manufacturer of wagons and carriages and built up a large business, there being a very ready market for his products owing to their superior quality and workmanship. His family consisted of two children, Mary, who married Mr. Ausherman, and one child that died in infancy. Mrs. Ausherman was reared in Maryland, and she received a good public school education. She has a pleasant home on South Market street, Springfield. To Mr. and Mrs. Ausherman three children were born, namely: Ida, born March 16, 1874, was educated in the Springfield schools, passing through the public and high schools and later taking the regular course in Drury College, from which institution she was graduated in due course of time, having made an excellent record; she has been teaching English in the local high school for the past twelve years, and is regarded by those familiar with her work as one of the most efficient teachers in her line in southwest, Missouri. Her long retention in the important position which she now holds would indicate that she has given eminent satisfaction to all concerned. Her work has been commended by Prof. J. Fairbanks, and she is popular with both teachers and pupils. Chester, second child of our subject and wife, was reared and educated in Springfield, and was a young man of much promise when his untimely death occurred in 1900 at the age of twenty-five years. M. Vernon, youngest of the children, was born May 17, 1877, was educated in the schools of Springfield, and he has conducted the grocery store left by his father, remaining in the same building, and during this period of twenty-five years he has become known over the city and county as one of the leading grocerymen of Springfield, having built up an extensive trade and carrying at all seasons a large and well selected stock of fancy and staple groceries, in fact, everything to be found in up-to-date grocery stores in any city. He has remained unmarried. Politically, Martin Ausherman was a Republican, and was regarded by all as an honest man and a good citizen in every respect. His death occurred on January 20, 1899, at the age of forty-eight years, when in the prime. REV. JOHN T. BACON. Examples that impress force of character on all who study them are worthy of record, and the mission of a great soul in this world is one that is calculated to inspire a multitude of others to better and grander things; so its subsequent influence cannot be measured in metes and bounds, for it affects the lives of those with whom it comes in contact, broadening and enriching them for all time to come. By a few general observations may be conveyed some idea of the useful, unselfish and unpretentious career of Rev. John T. Bacon, for the past sixteen years pastor of the First Cumberland Presbyterian church of Springfield, united in whose composition are so many elements of a solid, practical and altruistic nature as to bring him into prominent notice, who, not content to hide his talents amid life's sequestered ways, by the force of will and a laudable ambition forged to the front, rising by his individual efforts, from an early environment none too auspicious, and is therefore one of Greene county's best examples of a successful self-made man. Reverend Bacon was born in Crawford county, Missouri, June 2, 1868. He is a scion of a sterling old Southern family of the Blue Grass state, and is a son of Thomas J. and Mary Ellen (Chapman) Bacon. The father was born near Louisville, Kentucky, April 10, 1832, and when nine years of age moved with the family to St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent his early youth. He was compelled to work hard when a boy and his education was limited to thirty-two days in a common school. When twenty-five years of age he moved to Crawford county, this state, where he spent the rest of his life engaged in general farming, in which he was fairly successful. At the age of twenty-nine years he married and soon thereafter moved on a farm adjoining that of his father, who had also located in that county. His death occurred in 1888. He was an honest, hard-working and well-liked man, who was influential in the general welfare of his community. The mother of our subject, a woman of strong Christian character, was born April 20, 1839, in Crawford county, Missouri, and there grew to womanhood and received a common school education. Her death occurred April 17, 1885. Five children were born to Thomas J. Bacon and wife, namely: Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Caldwell, who died December 5, 1895; Emma died when five years of age; John T., of this review; Charles Benjamin, a resident of Marshall, Missouri, is at this writing postmaster at that place; and Reuben M., who lives in San Antonio, Texas. John T. Bacon grew to manhood on the home farm in his native county and there he worked hard when he became of proper age during the crop seasons, and in the winter time he attended the rural schools of his home district; later was a student in the Salem Academy, Salem, Missouri for one term. When twenty-one years old he entered Missouri Valley College, Marshall, this state, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1896. His alma mater honored him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In the autumn of 1896, having fostered for some time the laudable ambition to become a minister of the gospel, he entered Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, where he made an excellent record and was graduated with the class of 1899. He came direct from there to Springfield, Missouri, accepting a call as pastor of the First Cumberland Presbyterian church, which is located at Jefferson and Olive streets, and here he has remained to, the present time, his long retention in this important church being sufficient criterion of his popularity with the congregation and of his ability, fidelity to duty and growth in power. He has remained a close student all the while and has developed with his church. During his pastorate here the membership has increased several hundred, until it is today one of the largest, most earnest and wealthiest congregations in Springfield. Mr. Bacon is a forceful, logical, learned and not infrequently and eloquent pulpit orator, instructing and entertaining his audience at the same time, and he is also a man of no mean business ability, and has looked well to the material affairs of the church, as well as to its spiritual welfare. Although a man of plain address, avoiding the lime-light of publicity, he is nevertheless one of the most widely known and popular ministers Springfield has ever had, and he has been active for years in movements having for their aim the general moral upbuilding of the city. Mr. Bacon was married October 6, 1898, to Mary E. Dysart, who was born near Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, October 3, 1874. There she grew to womanhood and received a common school education, later was a student in Howard Payne College at Fayette, from which she graduated in 1894. She has proven to be a most faithful helpmeet and the success of our subject as a minister has been due in no small measure to her sympathy, encouragement and counsel. She is a very active church worker and a leader in the societies of the church of which Mr. Bacon is pastor. She is a daughter of William P. and Dora A. (Brown) Dysart, a highly esteemed and well-known family of Howard county. Mr. Dysart was born in Randolph county, Missouri, received a good education, graduating from old McGee College in the fifties, and later in his early life taught school for awhile, later took up farming, which he followed successfully until his retirement from active life several years ago. He is now making his home with the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Dysart was born in Howard county, there grew to womanhood and received a common school education. She, too, is still living, completing the happy circle of Mr. Bacon's household. One child has blessed the union of our subject and wife, William Dysart Bacon, whose birth occurred June 20, 1902; he is at present a student of the State Normal here and is making a fine record for scholarship. Politically, Reverend Bacon is a Democrat. Personally, he is a man of fine physique with a striking resemblance to William J. Bryan, of whom he is a great admirer. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias. He is a broad-minded, genial, obliging gentleman of genteel and courteous address and the number of his friends is limited to his acquaintance. JAMES BAIR. The army record alone of James Bair, deputy county clerk of Greene county, entitles him to the respect of all good citizens who remember the troublous times of the great war between the states. True Americans can never forget the heroes of the sixties, nor should they ever fail to do them honor. Mr. Bair has spent forty-five years in our midst and each succeeding year has found him with more friends than the preceding, which would indicate that he has been an honorable and valuable citizen. Indeed his long record as educator and public servant in this county is worthy of praise. He is an example of what honest effort, combined with perseverance and right thinking, will produce. His beginning was somewhat humble and discouraging, but he in due course of time rose to a position in the body politic which commanded respect by his fellow citizens. All the more credit is due him for his own brave efforts, and his example may well be imitated by those whose youthful environments are not of an encouraging nature, not that he has been a great success financially, but what is better, that he has made a good and useful citizen. Mr. Bair was born at Canal Dover, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on December 18, 1845. He is a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Bonfield) Bair. Jesse Bair was born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, about 1817, was reared on a farm and learned the millwright's trade when a boy, also worked at the carpenter's trade. From his native state he went to Canton, Ohio, and about 1842 moved to Canal Dover, that state, where he worked at his trades, erecting a number of substantial mills and other buildings over that country; the old Blake mills are still standing near that city as a monument to his skill as a builder. Politically he was a Democrat, and fraternally a Mason. His death occurred in 1890 at the home of our subject. Elizabeth Bonfield, mentioned above, was born at Canton, Ohio, and was a daughter of Dr. Bonfield, of that city. Her death occurred in New Philadelphia, that state, in 1853. Four children were born to Jesse Bair and wife, James, of this sketch, being the only survivor at this writing. His eldest brother, Martin V. B., was a soldier in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, and was one of the large number of soldiers who met death by drowning by the sinking of the steamer Sultana in the Mississippi river in 1865. Upon the death of his mother in 1853 James Bair went to live with relatives near Waynesburg, Ohio. He received his education in the public schools there, and on December 22, 1861, enlisted in Company F, Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and proved to be a gallant soldier for the Union, serving in a number of important engagements, such as Farmington, Iuka, Corinth, Raymond, Jackson and the siege of Vicksburg, all in Mississippi, later in the battle of Missionary Ridge, Tennessee, and Resaca, Georgia, then joined Sherman during the Atlanta campaign and marched with his army to the sea. He had previously re-enlisted in the same company and regiment, which entitled him to rank with the veterans. After reaching the coast at Savannah he accompanied the army northward through the Carolinas to Raleigh and was present when Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Sherman, then marched overland to Washington, D. C., camped at Arlington Heights, Virginia, and later participated in the grand review at the capitol. After that he was sent with some troops to Louisville, Kentucky, and thence to Little Rock, Arkansas, and was honorably discharged and mustered out on August 13, i865, as sergeant-major of his regiment, of which he had been adjutant clerk from August, 1863, until May, 1865, when he was appointed sergeant-major. Appreciating his ability as a soldier, he was commissioned first lieutenant, but never mustered as such. After his career in the army Mr. Bair returned to Waynesburg, Ohio, and attended school for some time, then spent two terms at Mt. Vernon College at Alliance, Ohio. After finishing school he clerked in a store at Malvern, Ohio, for eight months, then began his career as teacher, for which he seemed well qualified by both nature and training. His first work as an educator was at Mapleton, Ohio, where he remained until 1869, when he came to Springfield, Missouri, and soon thereafter began teaching in the rural schools of Greene county, which he continued for a period of seventeen years, teaching nine terms in one district. He was regarded as a progressive, thorough and painstaking instructor and his services were in great demand. He was one of the best-known teachers in the county of that period. Since abandoning the school room he has served in various capacities in business and county offices. He was deputy recorder of deeds for two years, was deputy county clerk for one term, then bookkeeper for five years for a wholesale company in Springfield, then traveled for a firm for eighteen months in several states. We next find him as deputy county collector for two years, then as deputy county assessor for four years, and in 1903 he was appointed deputy county clerk, in which capacity he has since served, being still in this office. His long career in the county offices has made him one of the best-known men in the county, and his work has been most satisfactory to all concerned, being not only well performed, but promptly and courteously. Politically Mr. Bair is a Republican. He is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and religiously he is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Bair was married on August 11, 1870, to Virginia J. Jeffries, who was born in Greene county, Missouri, in March, 1851, and her death occurred on November 12, 1912. She proved to be a faithful and sympathetic helpmeet and was a good woman in every respect. To Mr. and Mrs. Bair four children were born, namely: Anna L., born on April 20, 1871, died on August 9, 1905; William M., born on May 4, 1873, died in March, 1875; Victoria, born on September 8, 1875, died on February 28, 1894; Charles A., born on May 2, 1878, is a conductor on the Frisco Railroad and lives in Springfield. S. A. BAKER. It will always be a mark of distinction to have served the Union during the great Civil war between the states. The old soldier will receive attention no matter where he goes if he will but make himself known. And when he passes away, as so many of them are now doing, friends will pay him a suitable eulogy for the sacrifices he made a half century ago on the sanguinary fields of battle in the Southland or in the no less dreaded prison, fever camp or hospital. And ever afterward his descendants will revere his memory and take pride in recounting his services for his country in its hour of peril. One of the eligible citizens for special mention in the present volume is S. A. Baker, formerly a successful bricklayer and plasterer, but now engaged in the grocery business in Springfield, partly because he is one of the old soldiers who went forth in that great crisis in the sixties to assist in saving the union of states, and partly because he has led an honorable life. He is a plain, unassuming gentleman who has sought to do his duty in all the relations of life as he has seen and understood the right. Mr. Baker was born in Washington county, Arkansas, June 10, 1844. He is a son of S. A. and Terice (Looper) Baker. The father was born in Massachusetts, in 1806, and was reared on historic Bunker Hill, Boston. His death occurred in Springfield, Missouri, December 24, 1863. The mother was born in North Carolina, December 9, 1823, and her death occurred on January 19, 1904. These parents received a limited education, came West when young and were married in Arkansas in 1843. S. A. Baker, grandfather of our subject, was born in Massachusetts, being of an old family of New England. His father was also S. A. Baker, and he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, which fact made our subject eligible for membership in the organization of Sons of the American Revolution. The father of our subject was a bricklayer by trade, also a plasterer. For some time he owned a farm in Arkansas, having been an early settler in Washington county. From there he removed with his family to Springfield, Missouri, during war times, 1863, and his death occurred soon thereafter. His son our subject, had come here the year previous. He was the only child. The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch grew to manhood in Arkansas and there attended the common schools, receiving a fairly good education, for those times. He was compelled to leave school when the war broke out. In vacations he worked at surveying and in learning the bricklayer's and plasterer's trades under his father. He came to Springfield and enlisted, on September 4, 1862, in the First Arkansas Cavalry, Company L, under Capt. John Bonine, and he saw considerable hard service. He was in the battle of Fayetteville, in April, 1863, and three other engagements also the battle of Prairie Grove and numerous skirmishes, being in eight regular engagements in all. He proved to be a faithful soldier and was honorably discharged in Fayetteville on August 23, 1865. Remaining in Arkansas until the following January, he came to Springfield and worked at the bricklayer's trade, which he continued until nearly twelve years ago, having become quite proficient. He spent a number of years in the employ of the Ash Grove Lime Kiln works, building and repairing lime kilns. Owing to an accident which injured his eye, he was compelled to give up his trade, so he engaged in the grocery business at 635 West Chestnut street, and has remained in this stand since February 23, 1903. He has built up a very satisfactory trade, and carries an excellent line of staple and fancy groceries. He owns his place of business, as well as a fine brick borne adjoining. Mr. Baker was married on February 26, 1900, in Greenfield, Missouri, to Myrtle Henry. She is the daughter of David and Martha Jane (Morris) Henry. She was born in Danville, Illinois, December 25, 1875. When she was a small child her parents moved with her to Kansas, where she received her education. They later moved to Greenfield, Missouri. Mrs. Baker is a member of the First Christian church here, and is also a member of the Ladies' Circle. Politically, Mr. Baker is a Republican. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, also the Sons of the American Revolution as before indicated. He belongs to the First Christian church. LEWIS F. BANFIELD. Among the successful farmers of Greene county of a past generation, was the late Lewis F. Banfield, who was progressive in his ideas of husbandry, and in connection with his sound judgment and foresight he had the proper industry and perseverance to make his chosen life work a success. Like so man of our citizens of his generation he came from Tennessee and he had the sagacity to see in this locality splendid opportunities for the tiller of the soil, for no state in the Union has a more complete and rapid system of natural drainage, or a more abundant supply of pure, fresh water than Missouri. Both man and beast may slake their thirst from a thousand perennial fountains, which gush in limpid streams from hillsides innumerable, and wend their way through verdant valleys and along smiling prairies or through shady forests, varying in size, as they onward flow, from the diminutive brooklet to the giant river. Our subject was a good farmer, good soldier and good citizen. Mr. Banfield was born in Tennessee, August 16, 1845. He was a son of Qualles and Lucy (Warren) Banfield, both of old Tennessee families. There these parents grew to maturity, were educated in the old-time schools and there were married and established their home. The father devoted his life to farming and stock raising, first in his native state, remaining there until 1846, when he moved his family to Missouri, his son Lewis F., of this memoir, being then a year old. The family located on a farm in Greene county, not far from Springfield, and here the elder Banfield applied himself with his usual skill and diligence and made a success, and here he and his wife spent the rest of their lives, dying respected by their neighbors and friends. Their family consisted of six children, three sons and three daughters, all surviving at this writing but the subject of this sketch; the brothers and sisters are, Columbus, John, Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, a widow; Mrs.. Samuel Dishman and Lucy, wife of Benjamin Potter and subject, Lewis F. Most of them still live in Greene county. Lewis F. Banfield was reared on the farm and assisted with the general work there when a boy, and he received his education in the public schools of his day. He was working on the farm when the Civil war began, and he unhesitatingly proved his courage and patriotism, although but a mere boy, by offering his services and his life, if need be, in behalf of the Union, serving three years and three months in the Twenty-fourth Missouri Volunteer Infantry in which he saw much hard service, taking part in many important campaigns and engagements, including the battle of Chattanooga. He proved to be a brave, gallant and faithful soldier, never shirking his duty no matter how arduous or dangerous. He was but twenty-one years of age when he was honorably discharged from the service. After returning home from the army Mr. Banfield resumed farming, which he made his principal life work, and became owner of valuable farming land in Greene county, a few miles west of Springfield, which he brought up to a high state of cultivation and improvement, and ranked among the best farmers of his township. Mr. Banfield was married July 13, 1865, to Nancy C. Gibony, a daughter of Andrew and Sarah A. (Hackney) Gibony. -Mr. Gibony was a successful contractor and builder. Andrew Gibony was born in the South and died in Springfield. He built the first court house in this county, the one that stood in the center of the public square. Mrs. Gibony was born in Boone county, Missouri, and was a daughter of H. Hackney, who was an early pioneer in Boone county. Mrs. Banfield is one of a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, namely: Mrs. Mary E. Foster; James; John P.; Elizabeth; subject's wife; and one that died while young. Mrs. Banfield was educated in the public schools of Greene county. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Banfield, namely: Qualie W. died at the age of thirty-one years, leaving a widow; George Frederick, who is engaged in merchandising at McKinley, Lawrence county, Missouri, with his mother, is married and has one child, Ruby; his wife was Alice Irby prior to her marriage. Nona E., third child of our subject, married Charles Aven, a farmer in Christian county; this state, and they have two children, Bertha and May; Mary A. married Thomas Carr, a farmer of Christian county, and they have two sons, Ralph and Fred; Sterling E., a steam fitter, married Addie Gruebaugh, and they live in Salt Lake City, Utah; Lucy E. married Ralph Wardell, who is connected with the Springfield Seed Company, and they have two daughters, Nona and Mildred; Louis Harvey died at the age of eighteen years. Politically, Mr. Banfield was a Republican, but never very active in public affairs. He belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian church and was a liberal supporter of the same. He belonged to the Sons of Veterans. The death of Mr. Banfield occurred February 20, 1903. He was known as a good business man, a kind husband and father and a good neighbor. Mrs. Banfield, a woman of much executive ability in business matters, lives in Springfield, owning a home on West Walnut street, and also valuable farming land in the county. THEODORE BANISTER. From the "banks of the Wabash far away" hails Theodore Banister, and no doubt, in the language of Paul Dresser's famous song, "oft his mind reverts to the happy scenes of childhood" in that fair country where '"round his Indiana homestead wave the cornfields" with "scent of new-mown hay" and sycamore bottoms and all that; for it is indeed a desirable country, and,. of course, seems better to those whose youth was spent there. It is not only a picturesque country, but it has produced some of our best American citizens, men of industry, courage and honesty, so that they have been welcomed into whatever communities they have cast their lots. Not many of them have settled in Greene county, but Mr. Banister has found it to his advantage to do so. Our subject was born in Wabash county, Indiana, February 28, 1846. He is a son of- Nathaniel and Emiline (Dale) Banister. The father was born December 13, 1818, in Nicholas county, Kentucky, in which state he spent his earlier years, finally emigrating to Indiana in an early day and locating in Wabash county. They were married in Fayette county, Indiana, February 9, 1841, and there began life in typical pioneer fashion, he entering eighty acres of land from the government, which he cleared and developed into a farm, making general farming his life work. He lived on one farm for a period of forty-six years, and was a well-known man in his locality. His farm in Wabash county consisted of one hundred and sixty acres of excellent land. There his death occurred many years ago, but his widow survives, having attained at this writing the unusual age of ninety-four years, still making her home in the Hoosier state. Politically, Nathaniel Banister was a Democrat, and he was at one time trustee of his township. His family consisted of ten children, seven of whom are still living, namely: Merritt, who has remained in Wabash county, Indiana; Theodore, of this sketch: Louis, Alfred, Horace, Sanford and Alice, all live in Indiana; the other three children died. in early life. Mr. Banister, of this review, grew up on the home farm, where he when a boy, and he received his education in the public schools of the first his vicinity, the first school he attended being in a log cabin. He followed farming until he was twenty-one years old, then began learning the carpenter's trade, for which he had unusual natural talent. He remained in his native state until in 1880, when he came to Springfield, Missouri. He has continued in carpenter work all the while and is a fast and high-grade and his services are in good demand at the highest wages. Mr. Banister was married on November 7, 1884, in Springfield, to Laura Loveless, who was born in the central part of Ohio, May 1, 1863, and there she grew to womanhood and was educated near Bellefontaine, removing to Springfield, this state, when young, and finishing her education here. Her parents, George and Sarah (Outland) Loveless, spent most of their lives on the farm. The father was born September 7, 1823, and died here July 16, 1892. The mother was born June 30, 1823, and died July 18, 1886. To Mr. and Mrs. Banister three children have been born, namely: George E., born July 3, 1886, is a traveling salesman and resides in Springfield; Ralph, born December 16, 1888, who is employed in Snyder's clothing store in this city; Theodore, Jr., born October 21,1896, works in Holland's Bank, this city. Politically, Mr. Banister is a Democrat. He is a member of the South Street Christian church, in which he is a deacon, and he has long been active in church work. He has a cozy home on East Elm street. GEORGE W. BARNES, M. D. It is a pleasure to the biographer to revert to the life of an individual who surmounted the discouraging obstacles of an early environment that was none too auspicious, and while achieving a large measure of individual success has found time to be a good citizen in a general way, making his locality better by his residence therein. Such a man is Dr. George W. Barnes, for over a quarter of a century a leading physician of the north side in Springfield. Frank, courageous, honest, aggressive, he, nor his position as a citizen can not well be misunderstood. In professional, civic and social relations he thinks and acts along well-regulated lines, and does not evade, does not dodge an issue. He has energy, intellect, and will; has self-purpose, resolution and determination, throwing his entire force of body and mind direct upon his work. His self-reliance has not been wholly acquired--it was born in him. He believed at the start that if there were better days, and "good times coming" that we are justified in hoping for, we must be capable of making them for ourselves. The fable of the "labors of Hercules" is indeed the type of human doing and success. Doctor Barnes was born in Greene county, Missouri, April 7, 1855. He is a son of Elisha K. and Mary J. (Small) Barnes. The father was born in 1830 in North Carolina, from which state he emigrated to Missouri in early life, locating in Greene county, where he engaged in farming. When the Civil war came on he enlisted in the Confederate army during the early part of the conflict and fought gallantly until taken prisoner. He was sent to the Federal prison at Indianapolis, Indiana, where he died. He was of English ancestry. His father, Nineveh Barnes, was a native of North Carolina. He married Phoebe Headlee. They spent their earlier years in North Carolina, from which state they removed to Greene county, Missouri, in pioneer days, located on a farm, and there spent the rest of their days, each reaching advanced ages. The mother of Doctor Barnes was born on August 4, 1833, in Greene county, Missouri, where her people, the Smalls, were first settlers, and the old homestead has remained in possession of the family to the present time. The Small family is of Scotch ancestry. Elisha K. Barnes and wife were married on March 25, 1851, and they reared a family of four children, three sons and a daughter, namely: Dr. George W., of this review; Elisha E., born March 24, 1864, is married and lives in Oklahoma City; Mrs. Mattie Dennis, who resides in Hutchinson, Kansas, where Mr. Dennis is engaged in the real estate business, and Robert N., who died in Wichita, Kansas. The mother of these children is still living, having attained her eighty-first year. Doctor Barnes is an excellent type of the successful self-made man. His parents were poor and his father died when the future physician was but a boy, so he was early thrown on his own resources, and, therefore, practically his whole life has been one of self-support. He grew up on the farm and worked hard as a tiller of the soil during the summer months and in the winter time attended the district schools. Later he taught country schools in the winter months and farmed summers, and laid by funds to complete his education. He finished his literary studies at Morrisville College, in Polk county, this state, and, in 1882, he entered the Missouri Medical College in St. Louis, from which he was graduated with the class of 1884, and in that year he commenced the practice of his profession at Brighton, Polk county, where he remained in a good country practice until 1888, when he removed to Springfield, opening an office at Boonville and Commercial streets, which office he has since occupied, and his success a's a general practitioner has steadily grown all the while, and it is worthy of note that after a continuous practice here of twenty-five years the past year was the best of all, which fact should be a sufficient recommendation, not only of his ability, but of the confidence reposed in him by the people of this locality. He now confines himself as much to city practice as possible. He is often called in consultation on serious cases with other leading physicians of the city and county. He does a great deal of hospital work, and he has lectured at Burge Deaconess Hospital, Springfield, since its organization. He is a member of the board that lectures the nurses in training at this hospital, and also at the Springfield Hospital. His principal subject is nervous diseases. Doctor Barnes is a member of the Greene County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1906, and vice-president in 1905, and is at this writing a member of the board of censors of this society. He also belongs to the Southwest Missouri Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He is a member of the Commercial Club. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic Order, Tribe of Ben Hur, Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen and the Court of Honor. Politically, he is a Democrat, and, religiously, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. Doctor Barnes was married, May 26, 1886, to Annie L. Fender, who was born in 1864 in Greene county, where she was reared and educated in the public schools. She is a daughter of Wilson and Louisa (Wallace) Fender, she being the only child. Her father was a farmer, and when the Civil war came on he enlisted in the Union army and saw much hard service, and as a result of the exposure, contracted pneumonia while in the service was sent home, and died soon afterwards. Mrs. Barnes was but a child at that time and too young to remember him. A few years later Mrs. Louisa Fender married again, her last husband being Capt. J. W. Peitz, an officer in the Union army. Two children were born to the second marriage, namely: Joseph E. Peitz, a member of the shoe firm of Peitz & Cogley, who conduct one of the most extensive shoe businesses on Commercial street, Springfield; and Mrs. Alice Meador, also of Springfield, and the wife of a passenger conductor on the Frisco railroad. To Doctor Barnes and wife one child has been born, Geneva Aline Barnes, whose birth occurred in Springfield on December 13, 1896. She was educated in the ward schools and is now in her fourth year in the high school. She is a cultured and talented young lady, takes a fond interest in elocution, has decided musical ability and tastes, and at present is taking voice culture under Rev. Mrs. McClanahan, of this city. In his private and social relations Doctor Barnes is enjoyable, animated, jovial, and entertaining. There is no pretense or display about him, is kind and generous-hearted, and with friends is firm and true. JOHN BARRETT. There are farmers who might be known as one idea men, for they give too much attention to some particular phase of their work to the neglect of the general system required to make farming a success. Such men may have a bad influence. The man who has a reputation for big crops should study his farming to see if it will bear close critical inspection in its various details. John Barrett, one of the foremost farmers of East Center township, Greene county, does this. He gives such attention as is necessary to produce large yields of all his crops and at the same time keeps his place attractive in every way, thus setting a good example. Mr. Barrett is a scion of one of the earliest pioneer families in this section of the state, and for a period of eighty-six years the Barretts have been well and favorably known in Greene county--good farmers and good citizens. Our subject was born in Center township, this county, December 22, 1873. He is a son of Thomas Lafayette Barrett and Margaret A. (Binns) Barrett, the mother a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Binns. The father of our subject was born on November 10, 1843, in this county, here grew to manhood, attended the early-day subscription schools, and spent his life engaged successfully in general farming and stock raising, and became one of the best known men in the county. His father came from Hawkins county, Tennessee, early in the nineteenth century, and located in Greene county when this country was wild and settlers were few, but he was a man of courage and soon had a home established and land under cultivation. The death of Thomas L. Barrett occurred in 1910, after a life of usefulness and honor. He was married on September 28, 1871, and reared a family of six sons and one daughter, namely: Eldorado married W. H. Yeakley, a farmer of Stockton, Missouri; Walter, who is farming in Center township, Greene county, married Bertha Redfearn of Center township; Arthur, who was graduated from the Missouri State University, who is farming in Center township, married Mattie Sparkman; Elbert Lee, who is also farming in Center township, married Minnie Sparkman, a sister of his brother's wife; Thomas V. died on October 3, 1913, at the age of twenty-three years, after securing a good education in the Missouri State University; John, of this sketch; Weldon L., who is in the state university at this writing. Mr. Barrett, of this review, grew to manhood on the homestead, where he assisted with the work during crop seasons when growing to manhood and in the winter time he attended the local schools, obtaining a good education. He has always followed general farming and lives on the homestead with his mother, the place consisting of four hundred acres of valuable and productive land, constituting one of the choice farms of this part of the county. It lies, along the Carthage road, eight miles west of Springfield. Mr. Barrett was married on June 4, 1911, to Mary Harris, a daughter of William and Margaret Harris of Republic township, Greene county, where Mrs. Barrett was reared to womanhood and educated. To our subject and wife one child has been born, Esther Margaret Barrett, whose birth occurred on October 1, 1912. Fraternally, Mr. Barrett is a member of Bois D'Arc Lodge No. 449, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, also the modern Woodmen of America and the Anti-Horse Thief Association. Politically he is a Democrat, and he and his family attend the Methodist church. Like his father and grandfather before him, he takes keen interest in all movements looking to the general improvement of his township and county. ROBERT FRANKLIN BARRETT. After a successful railroad career of nearly thirty years, Robert Franklin Barrett decided on a less strenuous and quieter vocation and turned his attention to the theater business with the result that he is earning a very satisfactory livelihood as proprietor of the "Happy Hour" moving picture theater in Springfield, and while there are times, as might naturally be expected, when he longs again for the old life of the train man, yet this mood does not last long, as a rule, and he is well pleased with his new vocation. Mr. Barrett was born in Salem, Missouri, November 13, 1855. He is a son of William and Margaret (McDole) Barrett, both natives of Ireland, from which country they emigrated to the United States when young in years and here spent the rest of their lives. They established their home in Virginia, where they spent many years and from there removed to Missouri, locating at Salem over sixty years ago when that part of the state was sparsely settled. They had been educated in the common schools of Virginia and married in that state. There the father of our subject learned the business of iron ore worker which he followed principally the rest of his life, dying near Salem, Missouri, when his son, Robert F., was a boy. His widow survived many years, dying at Bloomington, Illinois, in October, 1904. After the death of his father the subject of this sketch was compelled to get out and hustle for himself, but he was by nature courageous, having inherited many of the indomitable traits of his Irish ancestors, and he not only made his own way when a boy but also managed to obtain a fair education. He came to Springfield when a young man and here began his railroad career in 1879 as brakeman on the Frisco, running principally on the western division, and he also worked as flag man on a passenger train for some time. He proved to he a very faithful employee wherever he was placed and he was promoted to freight conductor in 1885. Twelve years of his railroad career was spent with the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company, a part of which time he was passenger conductor. Leaving this road in 1898, he returned to the Frisco system, and was given a position as freight conductor on the central division. He continued with the Frisco until 1907 when he quit the road and engaged in the moving picture business in which he has been very successful and which he has continued for seven years. The first three years were spent at Hugo, Oklahoma, after which he came to Springfield and opened the "Happy Hour" Theater at 502 East Commercial street, which has been very popular and which continues to be one of the best patronized in the city, for Mr. Barrett knows what a good show is and tries to give his patrons the best and at the same time make them as comfortable as possible no matter what the season or the weather is. He has a neat, clean and sanitary place and a full modern equipment, including an up-to-date electric piano. He shows the "Universal" program. He shows four reels daily. Mr. Barrett was married on December 7, 1898, in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, to Josephine Crow. She was born in Iowa, January 4, 1864, and she is a daughter of Jonathan and Helen (Dooley) Crow, both parents natives of Cork, Ireland, from which country they emigrated to America when young and here established their home, spending the rest of their lives in the New World. They have been deceased for some time, the father having died in Iowa and the mother in Arkansas. They gave their daughter, Josephine good educational advantages. To Mr. and Mrs. Barrett one child has been born, Irene J., whose birth occurred on December 10, 1899, and who is now attending school. Politically, Mr. Barrett is a Democrat and has been active in the affairs of this party for many years. He was elected city marshal of Springfield in 1886, serving one term in a manner that was highly pleasing to his constituents and with credit to himself. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic Order, having attained the thirty-second degree in the same, is a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite, in fact has taken everything in this time-honored order but the thirty-third degree, the highest in the order. He has long been prominent in Masonry in the Southwest. WILLARD MAJOR BARRON. In placing the name of Willard Major Barron, of Republic, in the front rank of Greene county's business men, simple justice is done to a biographical fact, recognized throughout this section of the Ozark region by those at all familiar with his history, for he was the founder of the extensive manufacturing industry which bears his name. A man of wise discretion and business ability of a high order, he manages with tactful success an important enterprise and has so impressed his individuality upon the community as to gain recognition among its leading citizens and public-spirited men of affairs. What of the man and what of his work? This is the dual query which represents the interrogation at least nominally entertained whenever that discriminating factor, the public, would pronounce on the true worth of the individual. The career of Mr. Barron indicates the clear-cut, sane and distinct character, and in reviewing the same from an unbiased and unprejudiced standpoint, interpretation follows fact in a, straight line of derivation. In this publication it is consistent that such a review be entered, and that without the adulation of ornate praise. Mr. Barron was born in Northhampton county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1854. He is a son of Samuel C. and Sallie (Major) Barron. Samuel C. Barron was reared in Pennsylvania and received a good practical education, partly in the schools of Easton, that state, and later in life started in the retail cigar business for himself, which he continued until his death, in igo6. He and his wife were both natives of, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and were reared and married there. The Major family were in the cooperage business in, that locality and were well known and highly respected, as were also the Barrons. During the war between the states Samuel C. Barron served three years as a soldier in the Union army, as a member of a regiment from his native state. For some time after the close of the war he followed blacksmithing, but later took up the cigar business. Toward the latter part of his life his eyesight failed and he finally went blind. Willard. M. Barron was the, only child of his parents. He grew to manhood in Pennsylvania, remaining there until he was nineteen years of age, and there he was educated in the common schools. Leaving his native state he went to Michigan, locating twelve miles south of Kalamazoo, where he engaged in the grocery business for himself, later took in partners, the firm name becoming Barron, Frank Boner & Company, continuing for two years. During those early years in Michigan our subject learned the cooperage business; for which he seemed to have a natural bent. His grandfather had operated a cooper shop many years at Martin's Creek, Pennsylvania, near the city of Easton, and there young Barron often visited and watched the workmen at their tasks, however he did not attempt the work himself at that time. He worked under John B. Major, an uncle, who was engaged in this line of endeavor in Michigan. Mr. Major is now deceased. He was foreman of the cooperage plant owned by. Jacob Johnson, who had married the mother of our subject and was therefore at that time our subject's, step-father. When twenty-two years old Willard M. Barron went to Winona, Minnesota, where he worked at the cooper's trade three years, then returned to Michigan and worked two years for his stepfather, then located in Schoolcraft, that state, and started a grocery store, which he conducted two years, then sold out and came to Missouri, buying a farm in Jasper county, in 1880. In 1887 he same to Springfield and worked for the Springfield Lumber and Cooperage Company about six years, then went to Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, where he had charge of the Mammoth Spring Roller Mills cooper shop, which position he held seven years, then went to Nashville, Tennessee, and took charge of the H. C. Mocker cooperage plant, which employed on an average of forty-five men. After spending two years there he returned to Springfield, Missouri, and took charge of the Wunderlich cooperage shop here, which he operated a year, which ended his work for other people. In all the above responsible positions he gave eminent satisfaction in every respect, being an exceptionally highly skilled workman, energetic, reliable and handled the men under him in a manner to get the best results possible and retain their good will at the same time. He continued learning the various ins and outs of the business until he felt eminently qualified to manage a plant of his own, and thus he went to Republic and began in the cooperage business for himself. He was successful from the first and his business grew by leaps and bounds under his able management and wise foresight until it has now reached enormous proportions and he has thriving factories in a number of other cities besides his main plant at Republic. Upon establishing his plant in the last named place he contracted to make the barrels for the Becker, Langerberger Milling Company of Republic, which, however, was even at that time owned by the R. C. Stone Milling Company. He has three other plants, one at Joplin, one at Carthage, one at Aurora and, formerly, he operated similar plants at Mt. Vernon and Marionville. His main plant and head office are at Republic, and the combined output of all his plants averages one hundred and fifty thousand barrels per year, all hand-made and of a superior quality and workmanship. The Barron Cooperage Company has a splendid financial rating and has from the first stood high in the industrial circles of the Southwest. Each factory is modern in every detail, equipped with up-to-date machinery and only the most highly skilled artisans are employed and the best material used. The various plants give employment to a large number of men. Mr. Barron was married, first, to Mary Tweedy, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah Tweedy. Mr. Tweedy was a native of Ireland from which country he emigrated to New York, where he married a native of that state. He was a tailor by trade. Mrs. Barron was born in Constantine, Michigan, and was one of five children. She died three years after her marriage, without issue. Mr. Barron was married on January 5, 1879, to Sarah Jane Baldy, who was a daughter of Paul R. and Jane (Finley) Baldy, natives of Pennsylvania and Michigan, respectively. They were the parents of two children-Frank Baldy, who lives in Flint, Michigan; and Sarah Jane, wife of Mr. Barron. The latter was quite small when her mother died, and when her father married again he took her into his new home, she having spent about four years after her mother's death with an aunt in Pennsylvania. The mother of Mrs. Barron is living near Carthage, Jasper county, Missouri, where she owns about three-quarters section of very valuable land. Four children have been born to Mr. Barron and his last wife, named as follows: Sallie Annette is the wife of, Edward Huckins and they live in Republic; Willard B. lives in Aurora, Missouri; Flora J. is the wife of J. C. McCleary, of Seattle, Washington; Lewis Whitfield lives in Joplin, Missouri. These children all received good educational advantages and are well situated in life. We quote the following paragraph from the leading newspaper of Aurora, this state, which article recently appeared, and we deem it in keeping with the rest of this chronicle: "There may be some persons in Aurora and this section of the state who do not know that Willard M. Barron has one of his largest cooperage plants in this city, but everyone who is in the market for these goods has long since learned that Aurora supports one of the largest plants of this kind in southwest Missouri. The branch of the W. M. Barron Cooperage Company, which is established in Aurora is under, the personal direction of Willard B. Barron, who is a stockholder in the concern. He is the son of Willard M. Barron, who is known throughout this country as being the pioneer in cooperage works. The Barrons are a family of coopers. The father came to this country fourteen years ago and located in Springfield. After remaining there for one year he saw an opening at Republic and moved there. He has been established in that town for thirteen years, now. As he remained there he saw the development of the wonderful orchards throughout Missouri. It was at this time that Aurora became the center of large orchards and, knowing that great opportunities awaited him, he established his plant here. Willard B. Barron, who has been in charge of the plant for a number of years, has long since demonstrated that he is one of the true, live ones of Aurora. He is for everything that will develop the city, and progress is the motto of plant which he manages. With a number of young men of Mr. Barron's type in this city, Aurora would soon forge to the front ranks of the cities of Missouri. "Lewis W. Barron, youngest son of Willard M. Barron, is soon to take charge of the cooperage plants in Joplin and Carthage. These plants were established in July, 1913. The Barrons have been spreading out until they are now the 'barons' of the cooperage business in southwest Missouri. From twelve to fifteen men are employed at the plant here whose salaries run from eighteen to thirty dollars a week. The coopers work mostly by piece. As in the other Barron cooperage plants, the workmen in this city are highly skilled and are ranked among the high-class laborers of the city. Despite the adverse conditions of last year, the plant here has done a very nice business the present season. Thirteen cars of material have been shipped into Aurora and fifteen cars of barrels and other products of the cooperage plants have been shipped to points throughout the country. The products are not confined to this territory, but are sent to many of the neighboring states. Only recently a carload of the products was sent to Oswego, Kansas. Aurora is fortunate in having a large branch of such a concern. It means much to the city. Men are employed and money is brought here. It is such establishments, as W. M. Barron Cooperage Company that have put Aurora on the map as a commercial center" Politically, Willard M. Barron is a Republican and is well-informed on current public matters. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of the Maccabees, Woodmen of the World and Woodmen's Circle. Mrs. Barron is a member of the Ladies of Maccabees and the Woodmen's Circle. Both belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they are active workers, he being president of the board of stewards and is also a trustee of the church. He was formerly leader in the Sunday school. We close this article by quoting the last lines in an account of our subject and his large business interests, which appeared some time ago in a newspaper at Republic: "Mr. Barron is a fervent Christian, being a member of the Hood Methodist Episcopal church. He has been Sunday school superintendent for four years. He is a member of nearly all the lodges in Republic. No better neighbor or honest man lives today than Willard Barron, of the city of Republic." JAMES HARVEY BARTON. Great achievements always excite admiration. Men of deeds are the men whom the world delights to honor. Ours is an age representing the most electrical progress in all lines of material activity, and the man of initiative is the one who forges to the front in the industrial world. Among the distinctive captains of industry of a past generation in Greene county, a place of priority must be accorded to the late James Harvey Barton, for to him was due the upbuilding of an industry which was not only one of the most important in the locality of which this history treats, but also one of the most extensive of its kind in southern Missouri. The comparatively brief time in which he obtained pronounced results as a man of affairs further testify to his exceptional administrative ability and executive power. The city of Ash Grove and vicinity owe him a debt of gratitude which can never be paid. Mr. Barton was in the fullest sense of the word a progressive, virile, self-made American citizen, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced age in which he lived, while he made the most of his opportunities and worked his way upward from a beginning none too auspicious to a noble and worthy success. He made good use of his opportunities and prospered from year to year, conducting all business matters carefully and systematically, and in all his acts displaying an aptitude for successful management. He did not permit the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his actions toward those less fortunate than he, and he always had a cheerful word and a helping hand for those in need. Indeed, Mr. Barton was a most companionable gentleman, and had a very wide circle of warm and admiring friends throughout southwestern Missouri. All who came within range of his influence were profuse in their praise of his admirable qualities, and the high regard in which he was always held, not only in commercial but in social life, indicated the possession of attributes and characteristics that fully entitled him to the respect and good will of his fellowman, which were freely accorded by all with whom he came in contact. Mr. Barton was born in St. Louis, Missouri, March 29, 1844. He was a son of Waite and Hannah (Frothingham) Barton. The father of the subject of this memoir was born in New England and there grew to manhood and was educated, and in an early day he came west and located in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a member of the famous band of "forty-niners," making the hazardous journey across the great western plains to the California gold fields, and while in that state was a member of the noted Vigilant Committee. His wife died in early life, about 1848, but he lived to a good old age. Upon the death of his mother, James Harvey Barton, then only four years old, was sent to the home of his aunt in Boston, Massachusetts, where he grew to manhood and was educated. When eighteen years of age he enlisted for service in the Union army, becoming a member of Company A. Forty-second. Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, in which he served faithfully and gallantly for three years, taking part in a number of the important battles of the war, and was honorably discharged in 1865. After the war he joined his father in Quincy, Illinois, and made a trip through Kansas then back to St. Louis. When the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company built its lines west from that city he followed the construction with a supply store, which he continued until he reached Pierce City, Missouri, where he engaged in the lumber business for a few years, then built a lime kiln which he operated until 1880. In that year he came to Ash Grove, and in company with Charles W. Goetz and W. B. Hill, formed the Ash Grove White Lime Association. They began with one kiln, but their business increased continuously until in a few years they had eleven kilns running, using about forty cords of wood a day. A large number of men were employed, and the owners of timbered lands did a thriving business. The firm shipped its first lime in May, 1881. They also established a two-kiln lime plant at Galloway. The firm incorporated in 1907 as the Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company, with a capital stock of two million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which stock is a staple one of the country. The cement they handle is manufactured at Chanute, Kansas. The firm is one of the largest of its kind in the Middle West and is widely known, doing an extensive business over a wide territory. One hundred and forty men are now employed by the plant at Ash Grove, this plant being modernly equipped in every respect and has a capacity of fourteen hundred barrels and three hundred barrels at the Galloway plant. The firm owns four hundred acres of splendid quarry land, located just west of Ash Grove, and four hundred and fifty acres of equally as good land just north of the city. The firm also owns and operates its own cooperage plant, making all the barrels it uses. It is not too much to say that this company is the largest and best equipped lime and cement manufacturing concern west of the Mississippi river and rivaling any industry of its kind in the United States. And the motive force back of the establishment and development of this mammoth concern was Mr. Barton, who made few mistakes in a business way and who was a man of rare foresight and courage. Mr. Barton lived in Springfield for a period of eleven years, but returned to Ash Grove to make his future home in 1900, spending his last years at his beautiful estate, Woodbine, one of the most splendid country homes in southwest Missouri. Mr. Barton was married in 1877 to Cynthia Hill, who was born in Covington, Ohio. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Yetter) Hill, who finally removed from the Buckeye state to Carthage, Missouri. Mr. Hill was for years engaged in the live stock business. To Mr. and Mrs. Barton three children were born, namely: William .H., born October 23, 1884, was educated in the Springfield public school, which he attended three years, then was a student at Drury College four years, then spent three years in the Shattuck Military Academy, at Fairbault, Minnesota. He was graduated from the high school at Ithaca, New York, in 1904, and from Cornell University at that place in 1908, from the mechanical engineering department. At this writing he is superintendent of the plants of the Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company in Greene county, and is a young man of much business ability. In June, 1909 he married Edna Baldwin, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, August 21, 1886, and died January 29, 1913, leaving one child, James H. Barton, whose birth occurred April 19, 1912. Helen, the second child of James Harvey Barton and wife, was born January 1, 1886, and is now the wife of Dr. Harry M. Hosmer; James H., Jr., youngest of the children, was born in 1889 and died in 1897. Politically, Mr. Barton was a Republican and fraternally a member of the Masonic order. Mr. Barton was called to his eternal rest August 3, 1907, at the age of sixty-four years, while still in the fullness of his powers and usefulness. Interment of Mr. Barton's remains was made in Maple Park cemetery, Springfield. We quote the following lines from an article which appeared in the Ash Grove Commonwealth at the time of our subject's death: "Mr. Barton was an optimist of the broadest type, energetic, pushing and always sanguine of the future. He knew no such word as failure in any of his business ventures, and to this energy the Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company is indebted for its splendid growth and present magnitude. He was ever kind and considerate of the welfare of those in his employ and enjoyed their trust and respect to the fullest. As one of the employees expressed it after his death, We worked together as one big family. He could have been worth a half million more but for his generosity to those in his employ. No more fitting tribute than this could be paid to the memory of any man that those who worked with and for him loved and respected him. No public enterprise for the betterment of the community that came to his notice was left unaided, and in his death Ash Grove has lost one of her stanchest friends and helpers, and the Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company a master mind, capable of grasping the opportunities for its future development." The following is a paragraph from an article entitled "Death of a Prominent Citizen," which appeared in the Journal, of Everton, Missouri, at the time of our subject's death: "With the last twenty-five years there has been no movement for the betterment of Ash Grove and vicinity that Mr. Barton has not been identified with. He has ever been for progress and improvement. Liberal and broad-minded, he endeared himself to hundreds of men who were in his employ, and together with Mrs. Barton has done much for the mental and moral advancement of the people who have built up a little city around the big plant. All during his illness the workmen at the plant, together with their families and his friends from Ash Grove and Springfield, have besieged the Woodbine home for news of the sick man whom they loved so well. His death has cast a pall over the city of Ash Grove." From these paragraphs it will be seen that Mr. Barton was eminently deserving of the high esteem in which he was universally held. SAMPSON BASS. One of the oldest pioneers of Greene county is Sampson Bass, one of best-known citizens and, substantial farmers of Jackson township, who has spent nearly all of his long life of eighty-seven years in this county, which he has seen come up to its present position from the wilderness where roamed the red man and wild beast and where very few white people were to be found. To all this change he has been an interested and by no means a passive spectator, having sought to do his full share in the work of progress in the locality where he has been contented to abide through many decades. He talks most interestingly of the early days when customs and manners were different, men and women were different--everything, in fact, unlike what our civilization is today. He and other early settlers are of the opinion that those were better, at least happier, times than now, and this is, in the main, true. He might well be compared with the character represented by .the American poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his beautiful lines, "The Last Leaf," for Mr. Bass has lived to see his early acquaintances and friends perform their allotted acts in the local drama of civilization and then pass on to rest, coming down to us from a former generation. Mr. Bass was born in Marion county, Tennessee, on December 8, 1827. He is a son of Andrew and Ellen (Smith) Bass. The father was a native of Georgia, from where he removed to North Carolina, thence to Tennessee when a small boy, and he grew to manhood in the last named state on a farm, and there received a limited education. He emigrated with his family in 1830 and, by mistake, settled on land belonging to the Indians, who subsequently drove him off and he settled in Greene county in the fall of 1830, securing eighty acres at first. He started with practically nothing in this state, but being a man of exceptional ability, he became wealthy for those times and owned fourteen hundred and forty acres of land at the time of his death, having acquired his property by hard work and good management, and he died in 1867 on the place where our subject now lives. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife was a native of Marion county, Tennessee, and there grew up on a farm, received a limited schooling and there she married Mr. Bass. She was a pioneer woman in every respect, working hard assisting her husband to get a start in the wilderness, spinning and weaving, molding candles, making soap and the thousand and one things about the house, of which the modern woman knows nothing except by tradition. She was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Her death occurred on the homestead here in 1862. To these parents fourteen children were born, namely: Sampson, our subject, is the oldest; John, Henderson, Jackson and James are all deceased, Martin V. lives in Greene county, Newton, McCord and Leonard H. are deceased, Lila lives in Polk county, Missouri; Leda, deceased; Narcissus, deceased; Margaret is living in Greene county; Ellen also lives in this county. Mr. Bass, of this sketch, was three years old when his parents brought and he was reared in Greene county and here received such limited educational advantages as those early times afforded. He worked hard assisting his father clear and develop the home farm, remaining under the parental roof tree until he was twenty-one years old, when, in 1849, he married Ann Rogers, who was born in Tennessee on October 11, 1830, from which state her parents brought her to Greene county, Missouri, when she was a child, and here she grew to womanhood. Her death occurred in1866. Mr. Bass married a second time, in 1888, to Eliza Lowder, who was born in Green county, Missouri, October 9, 1850, a daughter of George H. and Juda (McCall) Lowder. She is a member of the Baptist church, as was also Mr. Bass' first wife. To the first union nine children were born, namely: Elizabeth, deceased; Jane, Polly, Riley, Sampson H., Jr., deceased; Dave J., deceased; the three youngest children died in infancy. To Mr. Bass' second union two children were born, Roy and Wright. After his first marriage Mr. Bass went to work as a wagon maker, later bought forty acres. His father then gave him eighty acres, and later he entered forty acres. He worked hard and managed well and therefore prospered with advancing years. He continued to buy land until he accumulated seven hundred acres, constituting one of the finest farms in the county, which land he placed under an excellent state of improvement and cultivation and established a commodious home. In 1860 there was no mill in this part of the county and one was badly needed, so Mr. Bass invited his neighbors to his home on Christmas day of that year for the purpose of talking over a proposition to establish a mill in the neighborhood. It finally devolved upon Mr. Bass to build a mill in section 15, Jackson township, and for years he carried on a large and successful business with his combined flour and sawmill, sawing lumber for residents in adjoining counties, as well as for those who lived in Greene. This was in 1860 and was the first steam mill to be operated in Greene county. During the Civil war he ground flour for the armies in this part of the state. He sold his mill in 1866 and resumed farming. The town of Bassville in this township was named for our subject. Politically Mr. Bass is an uncompromising Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and religiously belongs to the Baptist church. LOUIS N. BASSETT. Every human being either submits to the controlling influence of others or wields an influence which touches, controls, guides or misdirects others. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the way along which others may follow with like success. Consequently a critical study of the life record of the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this paragraph may be beneficial to the reader, for it has been one of usefulness and honor and indicates how one may rise to positions of responsibility in the industrial world while yet young in years if he directs his energies along proper paths and is controlled by proper ideals. Louis N. Bassett, superintendent of terminals of the Frisco Lines at Springfield, is a worthy representative of a distinguished family. He was born August 21, 1874, in Allen county, Ohio, and is a son of Samuel H. and Mary (Whipp) Bassett. The father of our subject was born in Ohio, October 1848, and there grew to manhood and received a limited education, and there he married and spent his earlier years. His wife was also born and reared in the state of Ohio and was educated there, the date of her birth being in September, 1850. To these parents eight children were born, namely: Ollis O., Mrs. Rosie Buchanan, Sarah (deceased), Louis N. (subject), Clara, Samuel, Jr., DeWitt and Glen. Samuel H. Bassett is a fine example of a successful self-made American. He made up for his early lack of education of a higher order by wide home study and by contact with the world until he became an exceptionally well informed man, and, choosing a military career, has attained a prominent place in the United States navy, having been connected with the navy department since 1896, and is now occupying the responsible position of auditor of the navy, with offices in Washington, D. C., and is discharging his duties in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of his superiors in that department. During the Civil war he joined the Federal army in the fall of 1863 and served very gallantly as a private in the Twenty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company I. He saw a great deal of active service in the far South, and was with General Sherman in his campaign about Atlanta and was on the memorable march to the sea. At the close of the war he was mustered out, and honorably discharged. Many years ago he worked in the internal revenue department in northwestern Ohio and from that went into the navy, in which his rise has been rapid. He has shown much natural ability, and this, combined with keen observing powers and the fact that he has been a diligent student of everything that pertained to his work, has made him very efficient as well as popular in this branch of the government service, and he is popular and well liked in government circles in Washington. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and belongs to the Knights of Pythias. Louis N. Bassett grew to manhood in Allen county, Ohio, and there received a good common school education, later studying at the Ohio State Normal, at Ada, that state. He began his railroad career in 1896 in Kansas City, Missouri, as messenger boy for the Frisco in the terminal department there, and he has remained with this road to the present time. Being diligent, quick to learn, faithful and reliable in all his work, he has been promoted until he now holds a very responsible position. He became chief clerk in that department, which position he occupied until in 1908, when he was appointed superintendent of terminals at Springfield, and has since held this post in a manner that has proven him to be entirely capable and worthy of the high degree of trust and esteem in which he is held by the company. He looks after the operation of trains, both passenger and freight, also the yards, tracks and station. He is regarded as one of the best men, in this particular field, the Frisco has ever had, and he is frequently complimented by his superiors for his efficient and prompt work. Mr. Bassett was married April 3, 1895, in Ohio, to Genevieve Murray., who was born in Allen county, that state, where she was reared and well educated. She is a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Depler) Murray. Mr. Murray was one of the oldest residents of Allen county and was twice married and reared a large family. To his second wife eight children were born, three of whom were triplets. Dr. Robert D. Murray, the brother of our subject's wife, was, at one time, government physician, specializing in yellow fever, and was United States surgeon for many years and was located at Ship Island, Mississippi, for a time, and then went to Macon, Georgia, and was instrumental in wiping out the yellow fever epidemic at New Brunswick, Georgia, and in 1903 died in Key West, Florida. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bassett, namely: Clifford, born September 19, 1904, and Howard, born August 29, 1906. Politically, Mr. Bassett is a Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, including the blue lodge and other degrees of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and including the latter. He is active in the affairs of the order, in which he stands high. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Personally, he is a man of fine character, is a good mixer, and has made a host of friends since locating in Springfield. PERCY J. BATES. Ruskin says that we are always given strength enough and sense enough for what nature intended us to do, and that, whatever we are doing, we cannot be properly fulfilling our earthy mission if we are not happy. ourselves. A part of our service to the world is unquestionably cheerfulness, and unless we are happy in our work and in the life we lead among men we are withholding something that is essential to true serviceableness. Percy J. Bates, rip track foreman at the North Side Frisco shops, Springfield, is a young man who is cheerful in his daily tasks, thus making them much lighter to perform. Mr. Bates was born September 28, 1886, at Essex junction, Chittenden. county, Vermont. He is a son of Job Bates, who was born in Westford, Vermont. He grew up in his native state and attended school there and in his younger days followed farming, later owned and operated a general store at Essex junction. He was very successful as a business man and became owner of three or four fine farms, which he kept well stocked and highly improved, but keeping them rented, merely looking after them in a general way. He owned a large town house in Essex junction, where he spent about twenty-five years of his life. He was very fond of good horses and made a specialty of raising them, always owning some fine ones. Politically he was, a Republican, and was a road master and selectman, influential and prominent in his town and county. He was a member of the Congregational church. His death occurred on May 12,1904, at the age of seventy-five years. His widow, who was known in her maidenhood as Mary Ella Brackett, a daughter of Hiram Brackett, of Amboy, Illinois, is living at Burlington, Vermont; she was born in 1851. Eleven children were born to Job Bates and wife, named as follows: Kizzie married Allen Martin, an attorney of Essex junction, Vermont; Julia I. has remained single and lives at home; Charles M. is manager of a hotel at Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania; Marion E., single, is teaching school in Los Angeles, California; Willis S. is physical director at Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas; James S. lives at Amarillo, Texas; Jessie E., single, is teaching in Burlington, Vermont; Percy J., of this sketch Mary E. is the wife of Dr. John Hunter, of the University of Vermont; Alice B. is a missionary in Labrador, teaching in the Dr. Grenville Mission there; Dorothy S. is single and lives at home. Percy J. Bates grew to manhood in Vermont and there received his education in the common schools, two years in high school, then studied at Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1904, then in 1905 he came West and entered Fairmount College at Wichita, Kansas, from which institution he was graduated in 1909. Taking an interest in athletics he played professional base ball in 1909 and 1910 for the Wichita Western League, being right fielder for that team, then played center field for the Arkansas City (Kansas) State League. He entered railroad service at Arkansas City with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Road, in the transportation department, and later worked in the mechanical department until May 5, 1912, when he went to Amarillo, Texas, where he worked as time keeper and in the car department of the same road. On, January 26, 1914, he entered the service of the Frisco System at Chaffee as piece work checker. On June 1, 1914, he was transferred to Springfield, Missouri, as rip track foreman in the North Side shops, which position he is holding at this writing. He has thirty hands under his direction and is giving his usual satisfaction. Mr. Bates has remained unmarried. Politically, he is a Republican, and he belongs to the Congregational church. He is a member of the Masonic Order. HENDRY BAXTER. Diversified farming in its truest sense calls for a methodical practice of a thorough rotation of crops, and three main points are to be kept in mind. First, the raising of paying crops; that is, crops that will of themselves return good revenues to the farmer. Secondly, good crops must be raised with which to feed the live stock of whatever nature it may be. Thirdly, it is necessary to keep up a rotation of crops to meet these needs during the whole year, and consideration must be given also in this rotation to the improvement and maintenance of the fertility of the soil of the farm. All this is clearly understood and successfully carried out by Hendry Baxter, of Wilson township, Greene county, who, with thrift and foresight characteristic of the Scotch wherever they cast their lot, has by his own efforts become one of our best tillers of the soil and leading dairymen. Mr. Baxter was born in Glasgow, Scotland, December 16, 1867. He is a son of David and Love (Cuthbertson) Baxter, both also natives of that city and country, where they grew to maturity, were educated, married and established their home. To them eleven children were born, six sons and five daughters. Hendry Baxter was reared in his native city and there received fairly good educational training. He first came to America and a year later the entire family finally set sail for our shores, when our subject was nineteen years of age. The parents came to Greene county, Missouri, and settled on the farm of J. Peachers, which place consisted of eighty acres and here became well established through their industry and economy. Our subject first went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where he spent a year, then joined the rest of the family in Greene county, where he worked at farming, and when twenty-six years old he made the long trip back to Scotland for the sweetheart of his boyhood and in the city of Edinburg was married to Ellen Russell Gibson, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Gibson, both natives of Scotland, and there Mrs. Baxter grew to womanhood and received her education. Our subject stayed seven and one-half years in the United States before going back to Scotland. After his return from Scotland, he rented for nine years and then purchased the place where he now resides. He has worked hard, managed well and has made a good living and brought his farm up to a fine state of productivity and has a comfortable home. He is making a specialty of dairy farming and is now milking twenty-eight cows of a good grade of jerseys. All his products are of a high quality and are sold direct to one concern in Springfield. He understands thoroughly the various phases of dairying and keeps his cows healthy and well cared for, everything about his place is sanitary and he believes in a "place for everything and everything in its place." He has made all his own improvements. To Mr. Baxter and wife five children have been born, namely: Elizabeth, David, James, William, all living at home; and one who died in infancy. Our subject's father and mother are both deceased; the mother of his wife is living, but the father died when our subject's wife was quite young. Our subject and family are members of the United Presbyterian church, and they stand high in the community throughout which they are well known. KIRK BAXTER. Kirk Baxter will long be remembered by the people of Springfield as a minister in the Christian church, and as a teacher, a man who was imbued with the deepest and most helpful altruistic spirit, and he gave his best years to the furthering of the movements calculated to uplift and make the world better. Pure, constant and noble was the spiritual flame that illumined the mortal tenement of the subject of this memoir, and to the superficial observer can come but small appreciation of his intrinsic spirituality, his faith having been fortified by the deepest study, and the Christian verities were with him the matters of most concern among the changes and chances of this mortal life. No man with his intellectual vigor and the love of truth which marked him could live long without inevitably being brought to investigate the great moral laws governing life, in fact, he was a strong man in every respect and was successful in all he undertook. Mr. Baxter was born in New York City, in the year 1836. His parents were natives of England, where they grew up and were married, finally emigrating to America, and both died in New York City, when their son, Kirk, who was the youngest of three children, was small, his two brothers being William and George Baxter. They are all now deceased. Kirk Baxter received his education in his native city, through the assistance of his oldest brother, William Baxter, but while still a boy, the three brothers went to the Southland, locating in Louisiana, where our subject continued his education in a college, and there entered the ministry of the Gospel, and for many years preached at various places in the South. He went to Mississippi after leaving Louisiana, and later located in Arkansas, where he remained a short time, and, in 1868, moved with his family to Springfield, Missouri, and became minister of the local Christian church, holding this charge for many years, during which he was one of the most popular ministers in this city. He also taught school, private classes, here for sometime, and as both preacher and educator his work was high-grade. He was a man of learning, of advanced ideas, was well versed in the Bible and was a forceful and entertaining speaker. Mr. Baxter was married in Louisiana to Emma F. Jackson, a native of that state, and a daughter of Jarrett E. Jackson and wife, and she grew to womanhood and was educated in her native locality, and she proved to be an excellent helpmate to her gifted husband. They became the parents of eight children, namely: Charles W., who died January 30, 1914; Mary lives in the state of Washington; Lena lives in Oklahoma; William H. died in 1879; Rosa lives in the state of Washington; George H., born February 5, 1867, received his education in the Springfield schools and the old Ash Grove College, and on December 27, 1898, he married Elizabeth Ramsey; he lives in Springfield, travels for a large St. Louis shoe house, and fraternally he belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Royal Arcanum. Curt, the seventh child in order of birth, is living in Montana; Walter W., the youngest of the family, was born February 3, 1872, in Springfield, and here grew to manhood and was educated; on December 28, 1899 he married Sarah Ramsey, which union was without issue; he was for some time general manager of the Springfield office of R. G. Dunn & Co.; his death occurred in January, 1901. Politically Kirk Baxter was a Democrat. For a period of twenty-five years he was prominent in the upbuilding of Springfield, especially along civic and moral lines, and during that period few men did more for the educational development of Greene county. He started the first Girls' Seminary in Springfield, and was the founder of the Ash Grove College. He was a man of whom it may be said, "truly his works do follow him." He was summoned to his eternal rest in 1895. EDWARD L. BEAL, M. D. For a period of a quarter of a century the name of Dr. Edward L. Beal has been a household word in the western part of Greene county, where he has engaged in the general practice of medicine, maintaining his home in Republic. His marked success in the world's affairs has been achieved by close attention to business, and by an honorable and consistent course he has risen to a worthy position among the enterprising men of the locality of which he is a native and where his life has been spent. It is plain record, rendered remarkable by no strange or mysterious adventure, no wonderful or lucky accident and tragic situation, no epic breadth of expedients. For Doctor Beal is one of those estimable character whose integrity and strong personality necessarily force them into an admirable notoriety, which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their contemporaries and their posterity and leave the impress of their individuality upon the age in which they live. Doctor Beal was born in Greene county, Missouri, on a farm, January 16, 1864, and is a scion of one of the oldest families of the county, where Daniel Beal, the paternal grandfather settled among the early pioneers, coming here from Kentucky, and entered land from the government which he cleared and improved and on which he established the future home of the family, and on this farm occurred the birth of our subject's father, George T. Beal, in 1832, and here he grew to manhood, and in early life purchased a farm near Springfield where he engaged in farming until 1855 when he made the long overland journey to California, and prospected for gold for two years after which he returned home and spent the rest of his life in general farming and stock raising in this county. During the Civil war he was a soldier in the Union army, a member of the Home Guards, rose to the rank of captain, commanding a company in the Marmaduke raid upon Springfield. After the war he resumed farming which he continued with gratifying results until 1896 when he retired from active life and moved to Republic where he resided until his death in 1910. He married Ann Eliza Rountree, who was born in Greene county, Missouri on February 19, 1841, and grew to womanhood and has always resided. She is a daughter of Junius and Martha J. (Miller) Rountree. She still lives in Republic, and has attained the advanced age of seventy-three years. To these parents six children were born, four sons and two daughters, namely: Dr. Edward L., of this sketch; Marshall F. died at the age of forty-one years, in 1908, after a successful career as contractor and builder; J. Solon, born in 1870, who is a contractor at Seattle, Washington, is married and has two children; Carrie M. died in 1896 at the age of eighteen years; Nettie married George Decker, an electrical engineer; they reside in Kellogg, Idaho, and have one son. Thomas M. died in infancy. Doctor Beal grew to manhood on the old homestead and there he found plenty of hard work to do when a boy, being the oldest child. He received his early education in the public schools of his home district in Ozark College at Greenfield, and Morrisville College, in Polk county. He began his preparation for a physician when but a boy, and he received his medical education in the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis, and in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he made a brilliant record, taking the highest honors of a class of one hundred and eighty-eight graduates, an honor which has never been attained by a student from the state of Missouri in that college, before or since, and was graduated from that historic institution on April 8, 1888. Soon thereafter he returned to Greene county and began the practice of his profession and since March 16, 1889 he has maintained his office at Republic, and has built up a very large and lucrative practice, and has long ranked among the leading medical men of the county. He was associated with the late Dr. J. E. Tefft, the eminent surgeon of Springfield, for about five years. Doctor Beal has been very successful in a financial way, and he is owner of a finely improved and valuable apple orchard of eighty-two acres, which is one of the best orchards in this section of the country, and he also owns thirty acres which are set in strawberries, and which also bring in a handsome annual income. Doctor Beal is a Democrat politically, and while he has always been ready with his support in all measures looking to the general good of his community in any way, he has never sought public office. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the county, state and national medical Societies, and fraternally belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Republic, also No. 471 Republic Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Maccabees and Woodmen of the World. Doctor Beal was married March 30, 1889, to Mary E. Landers, who was born July 24, 1867, in Dade county, Missouri. She received a good education in the public schools. She is a daughter of John N. and Ellen J. (Wilson) Landers. Mr. Landers was a native of Missouri and he devoted his active life to farming and was a banker and merchant at Dadesville, where he died June, 1909. The mother died August 29, 1908. The union of Doctor Beal and wife has been without issue but they have an adopted son, Luther Beal, who was born on January 30, 1894. He has been given good educational advantages, and he has a decided taste for horticulture. The Doctor is a gentleman whom everybody respects and trusts, his long record in his home community being above all idle cavil and his success in life is well deserved. CAPT. GEORGE T. BEAL. A prominent and useful pioneer citizen of Greene county was the late Capt. George T. Beal of Republic, for a long lapse of years a leading farmer in the western part of the county. He was a man of industry and public spirit, willing at all times to do his full share in the work of development, never neglecting his larger duties to humanity. He was neighborly, obliging and kind, which traits made him popular with all who knew him and won the respect and good will of those with whom he came into contact. Thus for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he was one of the worthy veterans of the great army that saved the national Union, we are glad w give him special mention in this volume. Mr. Beal was born November 10, 1832, on his father's farm near Verona, Missouri, but his long life of seventy-eight years was spent in Greene county, he being an infant when brought, here by his parents, Daniel N. and Nancy (Gibson) Beal. He sprang from an old Colonial family, members of which have been influential in their localities in America for many generations. Our subject's paternal grandfather was a native of North Carolina. The father, Daniel N. Beal, was born in that state, May 19, 1799. He was a cabinet maker by trade, and when a young man went to Giles county, Tennessee, and there he and Nancy Gibson were married. She was a daughter of George Gibson, and they were the parents of seven children, namely: George T., Allen H., James M., Martha A., Damaris, Mary J., and Penelope. Mr. Beal remained in Giles county, Tennessee until three children were born and in 1831, moved to Crawford county, Missouri, and settled near where Verona now stands. Judge James White came the same time, and here Mr. Beal made a clearing and began his home. He was in company with Judge White in the ownership of land, and as they thought the tract of land not large enough for both, Mr. Beal sold out and came to Greene county, the latter part of 1833 and settled in what is now Campbell township, on Wilson's creek, four miles west of Springfield. Here he cleared up a farm and passed the remainder of his days, owning two hundred and eighty-eight acres. In politics he was a Democrat, and both himself and wife were members of the Baptist church. Mr. Beal died in the prime of life, dying December 7, 1847, being about forty-seven years old. He was one of the frontiersmen of southwestern Missouri and highly respected by the early settlers, by whom he was well known as a man of integrity of character and honest worth. Capt. George T. Beal grew to manhood on the old home place in Campbell township, where he worked when a boy. He attended the old pioneer log school house three months each year until he was twenty years of age. He had taken an interest in farming from the start, and at the age of twenty-one years, in 1854, he was one of the gold seekers, crossing the great Western plains toward the "sundown seas," as the poet Joaquin Miller sang of them and their goal. He made the trip to California with three of his neighbors, Samuel G. Bragg, John H. West, and George Likins, the journey being made with an immense ox-wagon, drawn by four yoke of cattle. They also had two riding horses with them. The trip across was uneventful, in fact, pleasant and required four months, somewhat quicker than many others made it, the majority of them spending five and six months on the way. Mr. Beal engaged in gold mining at Shasta City on the Sacramento river for two years and then returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York City. The next year he again crossed the plains, driving a herd of cattle and milch cows, remaining nine months and returning home by way of Panama and New Orleans, and took up general farming in Greene county. March 20, 1860, Captain Beal married Ann Eliza Rountree, born February 19, 1841, a daughter of Junius and Martha J. Rountree, an old and prominent Greene county family. After his marriage Mr. Beal settled on a farm which he had purchased the year previously, which place consisted of one hundred and twenty acres. By his thrift and industry he added to this until he owned a fine farm of two hundred acres which he placed in a good state of cultivation, and here carried on general farming and stock raising until his retirement in 1896 when he removed to Republic where he spent the rest of his life. To Captain and Mrs. Beal were born five children, named as follows: Dr. Edward L., a well known physician of Republic, a complete sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; Marshall F., Joseph S., Carrie M., and Nettie R. All of these children were given excellent educational advantages. Captain Beal had a military record of which his descendants may well be proud. When the war between the states broke out in April, 1861, he enlisted in the Home Guards and he was one of the guides for Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, from Springfield to Wilson's creek battle ground the night before the attack. The Union army left Springfield in the evening, the sun being about one hour high and Mr. Beal rode with General Lyon and staff in the advance, the general frequently asking him questions about the road. The route taken was the Mt. Vernon road until five miles from Springfield and then across the prairie in the direction of the Confederate camp. About two o'clock in the morning a halt was called at a point one mile east of Brookline where the home of Milford Norman later stood, the troops resting quietly on their arms until daylight, which at that time, August 10th, was about five o'clock. Mr. Beal was sent back to the Mt. Vernon road with dispatches to Major Wright, who was in command of several companies of cavalry and was encamped as a picket outpost, to instruct him to close up immediately and be ready to go into battle at daybreak. By the time the command was in marching condition it was daylight and they rode rapidly to the battle field, the fighting having begun when they reached the ground. Mr. Beal reached the scene of conflict at six o'clock a little behind the cavalry. The armies of Generals Price and McCulloch had been taken entirely by surprise and their first alarm was the shooting at two of their foragers who were out after roasting ears and gave the alarm. The firing began on both sides when the armies were fully one mile apart but little of the battle could be seen owing to the broken condition of the country hills, black-jack woods and underbrush being in the way. After six hours of terrific fighting the Federals began retreating about eleven thirty o'clock, and Captain Beal and another guide rode back to Springfield, the country being entirely deserted and they met no one on the way. Soon thereafter Mr. Beal returned to the farm, bringing his wife back from her mother's where she had been for safety. He remained at home until November when Fremont's army occupied Springfield, and went on to Rolla. Mr. Beal went to Illinois, taking his wife there, and he remained in that state until the following March when he returned to his farm and made a crop. On August 9, 1862 he was elected captain of a company of Missouri State Militia which he had assisted in enlisting in his township, and he served as captain until he resigned two years later, being regarded as a brave and efficient officer. He commanded his company at the battle of Springfield when Marmaduke attacked the city. Two of his company were killed and fifteen wounded. Captain Beal was struck by a spent ball but not seriously injured. This was all done from one fire of the Southerners, Captain Beal's company being stationed where Colonel Moore's residence later stood, in fact, the hardest fighting occurred there. After the war he lived quietly on his farm and was known as a good citizen, a friend of education and honest government. He served his district several years as school director. In political opinions he was a stanch Democrat, although he neither sought nor accepted office. Both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church, in which he was for many years a deacon. The death of Captain Beal occurred in Republic July 14, 1910, and his wife is living in Republic. They were a fine old couple, beloved by all who knew them and they will long be remembered in this locality. MAJOR JOHN W. F. BEATIE. Effective management of one's affairs has ceased to be a one-man game. A generation ago farmers and business men could and did carry on their enterprises quite independent of each other. If they could not make a satisfactory deal with one man, there was another at hand with which they could open negotiations. But there has been a gradual breaking down of independent individual action and a growing up of gigantic systems of combination. Small business establishments have been absorbed by the larger ones which have united their interests by working agreements. Farmers now see the necessity of co-operation for cheaper production and less expensive marketing. One of the farmers of Washington township, Greene county, who is alive to new conditions is John W. F. Beatie, who was born near St. Louis, Missouri, April 9, 1837. He is a son of Robert and Mary Anne (Smith) Beatie. The father was born in Lincoln county, Tennessee, July 29, 1811, and was reared on a farm in that state, and when a young man he learned the blacksmith's trade. He remained in his native state until 1837 when he made the overland trip in a wagon to Missouri, Greene county being his destination, and our subject was born en route. The family settled about ten miles southeast of Springfield at a place now called Palmetto. Here the elder Beatie secured a tract of land which he cleared and worked in connection with blacksmithing, keeping a shop on his farm, and was one of the best-known blacksmiths among the pioneer settlers in that part of the county. There he spent the rest of his life, dying on March 22, 1884. His wife was born in Lincoln county, Tennessee, and there grew up and received a limited education. She did not live long after coming to Missouri. To these parents ten children were born, namely: Martha Jane, deceased; Lucinda, deceased; John W. F., of this sketch; Sarah Elizabeth lives in Webster county, Missouri; David M. is living in Rogersville, Webster county; Mrs. Frances Gault lives in Rogersville also; William R. makes his home at Rogersville; Anna Eliza, deceased; Lucretia G., deceased; the youngest child died in infancy. Major Beatie grew to manhood on the home farm where he worked when a boy, and in the winter time he attended the district schools of his community. He has lived in Missouri all his life, and being now past his seventy-seventh birthday he is one of the oldest citizens of this township, which he has seen develop from a wild state to a fine farming community, and he has taken an interested part in the many improvements. When the Civil war began he soon took a stand for the Union and at first joined the Home Guards under Captain Waterson. After the battle of Wilson's Creek he entered the United States service, serving six months in Company D, Phelp's regiment, under Capt. J. W. Lisenby, then joined the Missouri State Militia, and later was a member of the Sixteenth Missouri Cavalry. He saw considerable service, but principally in his home district, and at the close of the war he was honorably discharged at Springfield. Major Beatie was married in 1872 to Matilda Pickel, who was born in Tennessee, and from that state she removed with her parents at a very early age to Greene county, Missouri, the family locating just across the road from the Beatie family and there she grew to womanhood and received her education in the district schools. She is a daughter of Jacob B. and Malicia (Holt) Pickel, who came to Greene county, Missouri, from Tennessee, and located on a farm in Washington township. To Mr. and Mrs. Beatie five children have been born, namely: Mrs. Mary Alice Davis lives in Greene county; Robert M. is at home; Mrs. Emma Holland lives in Greene county; Mrs. Jennie Isabel Webb lives in Greene county, and Mrs. Bessie F. Painter resides in Springfield. Major Beatie has always followed general farming, and soon after his marriage he moved to the farm where he is now residing, purchasing one hundred acres, to which he later added twenty-six and one-half acres, one hundred acres being under cultivation, the balance in timber. He has a good farm and a comfortable home and has made an easy living here. He has owned farms in different parts of the state. Politically, Mr. Beatie is a Republican, and while loyal to his party has never sought leadership or public office. JOHN BECKERLEG. Enjoying the distinction of being the oldest engineer on the Frisco system, John Beckerleg is deserving of special mention in the present volume. Forty years is a long time to work for one company, and in one line of work, but that is his record. It indicates many things to the contemplative mind, among them being the fact that he has been not only faithful but efficient, trustworthy and reliable, for a railroad company is not going to trust its costly rolling stock, to saying nothing of the lives of its patrons--the passengers--to men who are not true and tried. It also indicates stability. Some men fly from one occupation to another, go from one place to another, are never settled, never satisfied; they may be railroaders by profession, but if they stick to the work forty years they have perhaps worked for a score of roads. Mr. Beckerleg was born in the extreme southern part of the Dominion of Canada, just across the river from Detroit, Michigan, November 11, 1852 . He is a son, of John and Margaret (Glendenning) Beckerleg, both natives of England, the father born April 1, 1825. He received a good education, learned the trade of stone cutter when young, and followed the same the rest of his life. When young he emigrated to Canada, where he established his future home. He was twice married, our subject being by his second wife. Our subject's father died on October 4, 1869, and the mother's death occurred in November, 1885, both dying in Canada. Our subject is one of five children, three of whom are still living, namely: John, of this review; James lives in Paris, Texas; William and George are deceased; Joseph lives in British Columbia. John Beckerleg grew to manhood in Canada, where he received his education, and there he resided until 1870, when he came to Pacific, Missouri, which was on the east end of the Frisco railroad, and there he went to work, on March 17th, of that year, in the machine shops, and later became a blacksmith, and before the end of that year he was given a run as fireman on the east end of the division, later he ran on the middle division, from Dixon to Springfield, then worked as extra out of Springfield and in various capacities, until 1875, when he had a regular run as engineer on a freight train. In 1880 he was promoted to extra passenger engineer, and in 1882, was given a regular passenger run from Pierce City, Missouri, to Van Buren, Arkansas; continuing as engineer of a passenger he was given a. run in 1886 out of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and for a number of years he has been running between that city and Springfield, and is still active and as good an engine driver as at any time in his career. As stated, he is the oldest engineer on the Frisco, in point of years of service, and is deserving of a great deal of credit for his faithful work. Mr. Beckerleg was married July 23, 1874, near Sullivan, Missouri, to, Retta Waits, who was born in August, 1854, twelve miles from Rolla, this state. She is a daughter of John F. and Mary (Botoff) Waits, the father a native of Columbus, Ohio, and the mother was horn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. Waits was an iron molder by trade. His death occurred in Springfield, Missouri, in March, 1888, and his wife preceded him to the grave in 1883. They had made their home in Springfield many years. They were both of German blood. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Beckerleg, namely: John Waits, born on September 8, 1875, in Franklin county, Missouri, received a common school education, and early in life gave evidences of a mechanical turn of mind. He began working in the round-house in Springfield, for the Frisco, and later was given a position as fireman, and has been in the road service ever since 1898; twelve years ago he was given charge of a switch engine and is still thus employed; he married Vedie May White, a native of Greene county, this state; they have no children; he is a member of the Brotherhood of Firemen No. 51. The second child of our subject was Charles Wesley, who was born in 1877, and died when three months. Old. Walter Blanchard, the third child, was born April 20, 1886. He received a public school education, and he began railroading as a fireman before he was twenty-one years of age, and he is now an engineer. On November 2, 1908, he married Edna Morris, which union has been without issue. Politically, John Beckerleg is a Republican. He belongs to the Masonic Order, is a member of Division No. 83, Brotherhood of Engineers, and religiously he is an Episcopalian. H. S. BENNETT. Mr. Bennett was born at Shelton, Connecticut, October 5, 1861. He is the son of a sterling old New England family; the son of Henry and Emily Shelton Bennett, both born in Fairfield county, Connecticut, where our subject first saw the light of day and where his parents grew to maturity, received their education, and were married. The father was a steamboat captain on Long Island Sound, spending the principal part of his active life in charge of boats running out of New York, on the Bridgeport and Derby lines, where he was well known and popular, both with the passenger and freight patrons of these lines. Politically, he was a Republican, and for several years was a major in the Connecticut State Militia. H. S. Bennett, only child of his parents, grew to manhood in his native community, and received his education in the public schools and the Episcopal Academy of the state of Connecticut at Cheshire, Connecticut. In 1882 he left his New England home and came West, locating in St. Louis, where he engaged in the grocery business a few months; then entered the employ of the Waters Pierce Oil Company. In February, 1883, this company made him their local agent at Springfield, Missouri. In July, 1913, this company sold out to the Pierce Oil Corporation, Mr. Bennett retaining the position of local agent for the new concern. Mr. Bennett was married in Shelton, Connecticut, in 1881 to Ila J. Wason, who was born at Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is a daughter of Captain James and Elizabeth Mary (Fairchild) Wason. Captain Wason was born in Virginia and Mrs. Wason at Newton, Connecticut, where they were married. Captain Wason, in his early life, was proprietor of the Berkshire Mills at Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was captain of coasting schooners during the latter years of his life. He and his wife are both now deceased. Mrs. Bennett grew to womanhood in Bridgeport, and received a high school education, finishing it at Newtown Academy, Newtown, Connecticut. Mrs. Bennett is a member of the Daughters of the Revolution. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, namely, Shelton W., born March 18, 1883, married Mabel Clara McClain, and is now engaged in farming and general stock raising at the head of Lake Taney como, in Taney county, Missouri; James Hurley, born in 1897, died in 19088, and Henry Fairchild, born September 29, 1895, and is now at home with his parents. Politically, Mr. Bennett is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic order, and is a past high priest of Vincel chapter. He is also a member of the Elks, and of the Sons of the Revolution, having had three great-grandfathers in the Revolutionary war; and is a member of the James River Club. RICHARD H. BENSON. It is not the weaklings that accomplish worthy ends in the face of opposition but those with nerve and initiative whose motto is, "He never fails who never gives up," and with this terse aphorism ever in view, emblazoned on the pillar of clouds, as it were, before them, they forge ahead until the sunny summits of life are reached and they can breathe a breath of the purer air that inspires the souls of men with respite. Such has been the history of Richard H. Benson, of Springfield, whose career has been a varied one, and the earlier part of which was as a deep sea sailor, but the latter years of his life has been more prosaic. Mr. Benson was born in Belle Haven, Accomac county, Virginia, July 12, 1850. He is a son of James S. and Catherine (Mears) Benson, both natives of Virginia, where they grew up, were married and established their home. The father was one of four children, John S., Edward, James S., and Keeley, all now deceased. The mother of our subject was one of five children, Margaret, Richard, Thomas, Sally, and Catherine. Richard Mears was a sea captain and in his service rescued many crews, among them was a Canadian crew, for which act he was rewarded by the Canadian government, Secretary of State Everetts presenting him with a fine watch, set with diamonds. James S. Benson and wife spent the latter years of their lives in North Hampton, Virginia, where the father's death occurred December 8, 1876. Richard H. Benson spent his boyhood days in Belle Haven, Virginia, where he received a public school education. When but a lad his inclination was to the sea, and, leaving home when about seventeen years of age, he made a sea voyage on the ship Edwin Rowe to the west coast of Africa, under Captain Miller, of Portland, Maine, and was gone seven months, during which he visited Siereleone, in the western part of the Dark Continent, and passed in sight of Monrovia, stopped at Bassa, Grand Bassa, Cape Palmas, Dixcove, the River Gaboon, then returned to America, the voyage to New York requiring fifty-one days, and he was required to lay aboard the vessel in Brooklyn two months. On February 26, 1868, he landed in Lacon, Marshall county, Illinois, stopping with his uncle, John Benson, who owned a farm there, and in the fall of 1869 the uncle came to Springfield, Missouri, and our subject joined him here in the summer of 1872; leaving here the last of September of that year, Mr. Benson went to Chicago and remained there until Christmas, then went back to Belle Haven, Virginia, and remained with his father until in June, 1873, when he went to Baltimore, Maryland and shipped as a seaman in the government survey, remaining in the service until the spring of 1875, when he came to St. Louis, Missouri, and took a position as solicitor for the printing house of John McKitrick & Company, but after a short time he went to Chicago and entered the hotel business, which he followed. until he came to Springfield to make his permanent home in 1886, and thus he has been a resident of this city twenty-eight years, during which time he has been engaged in the sewing machine business as an agent for the Singer Manufacturing Company, remaining in their service for about eighteen years, and then took up life insurance business, staying in this line for one year, then took up the sewing machine business again. Mr. Benson was married, July 3, 1888, to Ella V. Berry, a daughter of P. Jesse and Eliza (Cowling) Berry. The father was a minister in the Christian church, and had charge of churches in different states, and was an able and popular preacher. His family consisted of four children, namely: Ella V., wife of Mr. Benson; Maggie, who married W. J. Bills; Gertrude, who married Dr. M. Ney Smith; the youngest child, died in infancy. Mrs. Ella V. Benson was born in Pennsylvania, from which state she later moved to New York state, then to Maryland, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, and she received part of her education in the college at Eureka, the latter state. She came with her parents to Springfield, Missouri, first in 1879, and the second time they came to this state was in 1881. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Benson, namely: James Berry, John E., and Richard K., all living in Springfield. Politically, Mr. Benson is a Democrat, and he and his whole family are members of the South Street Christian church. They have a pleasant home on the Bolivar road, near Talmage street. JAMES A. BERRY. Since James A. Berry, well-known farmer and stock breeder of Franklin township, Greene county, located in this vicinity over sixty years ago he has noted many changes--among others, a change of climatic conditions--the seasons are not so dependable now as formerly, consequently, the farmer has had to change his methods. One of the most serious conditions now to be met with is a drought at some period during each growing season. But he, with others, have learned that when crops are grown in rotation and proper tillage methods are followed, they will suffer less from dry weather than when they are grown continually, that crop rotation is usually of more importance than the method of tillage used in this respect, although both are important. Mr. Berry was born, January 1, 1842, in South Carolina. He is a son of William B. and Martha (Latham) Berry. The, father of our subject was a native of Alabama and was a son of Robert Berry, who located in South Carolina when a young man, where he married, after which he moved to Tennessee, remaining in that state until 1852, when he emigrated to Greene county, Missouri. The subject of this sketch was two years old when he left his native state with his parents, and his early boyhood was spent in Tennessee. William B. Berry was a life-long farmer, and owned a good farm in Greene county, and here his death occurred on the homestead September 21, 1892. Politically, he was a Republican, but was never active in public affairs. The mother of our subject was also a native of South Carolina, and her death occurred on the home farm in Greene county in 1891. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Mt. Comfort, and she and her husband were both buried in the cemetery near that church. They were the parents of eight children, named as follows: James A., of this sketch; Mrs. Calverna Ann Runnells, deceased; Mrs. Emily Runnells, deceased; Mrs. Mary Jane McCurdy; Mrs. Dora Lay lives in Center township, this county; Mrs. Etta Newton, deceased; the two youngest children died in infancy. James A. Berry was eleven years of age when he accompanied the rest of the family to Greene county, Missouri, and he worked on the home farm in Franklin township, and was educated in the township schools. He remained on the home farm until his marriage, then moved to his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He also owns forty acres west of his home farm, which lies near the old home place. He has been very successful as a general farmer and live stock raiser, making a specialty of grain and trading in horses and mules, and formerly he raised large numbers of hogs annually, but of late years has not made such an extensive effort along this line. He has an excellent group of buildings. In the fall of 1912 he built a breeding barn, thirty-six by forty-eight feet, with box stalls--modern and complete. He is one of the best-known horse breeders in this part of the county and owns some fine stock, including a beautiful black Percheron stallion, "Charley," which is a splendid saddle horse, registered. He also owns "Roscoe," six years old, fifteen hands high; weight, fourteen hundred pounds. He also owns two fine jacks; one, "Black John," is a coal black, seven years old, and fourteen and one-half hands high. Mr. Berry was married on December i8, 1860, to Elizabeth Katherine McCurdy, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy M. (Appleby) McCurdy. Mr. McCurdy Was born in Tennessee, December 5, 1820, and removed from that state to Arkansas when he was eleven years of age. Remaining in that state until he was twenty years old, he came to Greene county, Missouri, married the following year and located on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, of well-improved land in Franklin township, and here his death occurred August 28, 1904, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. His wife was born in Tennessee, July 27, 1821, and died on the home farm in Greene county, Missouri, July 3, 1901. Thomas McCurdy was a soldier in the Civil war, having enlisted in Company K, Seventy-second Missouri Volunteer Infantry, in 1861. He did guard duty mostly, and was kept with the garrison in Springfield most of the time. He had several very narrow escapes from serious wounds and at one time holes were shot through his hat and cape, and at another time a grape-shot narrowly missed his foot, but he went through the conflict unscathed, and was honorably discharged in 1865. Fourteen children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Berry, namely: Leroy McClelland was killed by a falling log at the age of seventeen; Oliver DeWitt lives in Franklin township; Rolland Pate lives in Pittsburg, Kansas; Mrs. Calverna Ann Patterson lives in Springfield; Gustavus Antioch Finklinburg is a memberof the real estate firm known as the Ozark Land Company, Springfield; Mrs. Fidelia Cornell lives in Springfield; James Blaine lives in Springfield and is a member of the firm of the Ozark Land Company, being in the real estate business with his brother; John Logan lives in Springfield; the other six children died in infancy. During the Civil War Mr. Berry enlisted for service in the Federal army in 1861, in Company K, Seventy-second Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He drove a team most of the time, however he took part in the battle of Springfield when Marmaduke and Shelby attacked the town, on January 8, 1863, and he was also in several skirmishes. He did guard duty for some time about the commissary. He was mustered out and honorably discharged, August 20, 1865. He remained in Springfield during his entire service. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has always been a Republican but now votes independently in local affairs. His wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Mt. Comfort. When a young man, just before the breaking out of the Civil war, Mr. Berry hauled lumber for the old court house, also hauled sand from the James river for the same, driving six yoke of oxen. He recalls many interesting reminiscences of the early days, and it is a pleasure to visit his home. JAMES BLAINE BERRY. Of the younger business men of Springfield, few seem to have better prospects of large success in future years than James Blaine Berry, who has a diversity of natural gifts and, although it is a far cry from an iron moulder to the music business, he did both with gratifying results, and was for many years a well known traveling man over the Southwest, and now we find him a member of the Ozark Land Company, which his enterprise and keen discrimination is making one of the most successful and important real estate firms in southern Missouri. Mr. Berry was born on a farm in Franklin township, Greene county, Missouri, April 30, 1882. He is a son of James A. and Elizabeth (McCurdy) Berry a highly esteemed old family of this county, and as the reader will find a complete sketch of these parents on another page of this volume, the record of their lives will not be repeated here. James B. Berry grew to manhood on the home farm, and there assisted with the general work during the summer months when he became of proper age, and during the winter attended the district schools; also took an academic course in the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri, after which he came to Springfield and learned the iron moulder’s trade. Although he became a good moulder, he did not altogether fancy the work, and abandoned the same, and in 1903 went on the road as a salesman for the A. Beste Music Company, of Pittsburg, Kansas, and was assigned to southwestern Missouri and eastern Kansas, in which territory he did much, during his two years of service with this company, to increase the prestige of the same. He then returned to Springfield and took a position as city salesman for the Martin Music Company, which position he held for a year, then went on the road as advertising and demonstrating representative for the Baldwin Piano Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, covering Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, a part of Arkansas and Illinois, with headquarters at St. Louis. In all these responsible positions he gave his employers eminent satisfaction in every respect and was regarded as one of their most faithful, efficient and trustworthy employees. In 1909 he resigned his position with the Baldwin people and returned to Springfield, Missouri, purchasing an interest in the Ozark Land Company here, and has since been connected with the same and has been a potent factor in making it a large and successful business. Mr. Berry was married, March 10, 1904, to Marry B. Tedrick, who was born February 25 1884, in Springfield, Missouri, where she grew to womanhood and received an excellent education. She is a daughter of George and Emma Tedrick, a highly esteemed family here. To Mr. and Mrs. Berry one child has been born, Doris Dolores Berry, whose birth occurred February 3, 1905. She is attending school and is now in the fifth grade. Mr. Berry is a Republican in his political affiliation. Religiously, he is a Presbyterian. He is a member of the Illinois Men's Commercial Association. GUSTAVUS F. BERRY. Gustavus F. Berry is the president of the Berry Land and Investment Company at Springfield, in which connection he has a wide acquaintance throughout the Southwest. Greene county, Missouri, numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred on July 23, 1876, upon the farm of his father, James A. Berry, who is a native of North Carolina, born in 1843, The latter was, however, but nine years of age when, in 1852, he was brought to Greene county, Missouri, where he has since made his home, and where he has been identified with agricultural pursuits throughout the period of his manhood. On the 18th of December, i86i, he married Miss Elizabeth E. McCurdy and they became the parents of nine sons and five daughters, of whom five sons and two daughters are still living, while the parents also survive and are well known and highly respected residents of their locality. In the country schools Gustavus F. Berry began his education, which he continued in the Southwest Baptist College at Bolivar, Missouri. He started out in the business world as a salesman for the Champion Harvester Company and subsequently represented the International Harvester Company, being thus employed for four years. He then turned his attention to the real estate business and for two years he was in the employ of the Ozark Land Company before he purchased the Berry Land and Investment Company. He now stands at the head of that concern, and as such is thoroughly informed in regard to realty values and the market conditions of real estate. What he undertakes he accomplishes, for his energy is unfaltering and his persistency of purpose has enabled him to overcome many difficulties and obstacles in his path. As he advances step by step there opens before him broader opportunities, and his ready recognition of possibilities points out to him the ways of success. . On the 22d of April, 1902, in Springfield, Mr. Berry was united in marriage to Miss Clara Lloyd, and unto them has been born a daughter, Hazel T. The family attends the Presbyterian church and in social circles they are well known, the hospitality of many of the best homes of the city being freely accorded them. Mr. Berry belongs to several fraternal organizations, and clubs, holding membership with the Masons and Elks, with the Springfield Club, the Country Club, and the Young Men's Business Club. He has had military experience and training through three years service as a member of Company K, Second Regiment of the Missouri State Guard. His political endorsement is given to the Democratic party, but, while he votes for its men and measures at the polls, he does not seek office. His primary interest is in his business, with the opportunity it gives him of providing well for his family and doing his part in the world's work. FRANK A. BEYER. When we are told that such and such a man is a general foreman of no matter what, we know at once that he is a man who possesses native talent and that he has not attained his position at a single bound, but that he has spent years in close application and careful preparation; that he has been faithful to every trust reposed in him and that he is a man of self-reliance and fortitude. Without any attempt to unduly praise Frank A. Beyer, general foreman of the locomotive department of the new Frisco shops at Springfield, we can truthfully say that he is such a man as we have here indicated. Mr. Beyer, who has spent his active life in railroad service, is a man of Teutonic origin, his birth having occurred in Germany, August 5, 1877. He is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Fleysch) Beyer, both natives of Germany, the father's birth having occurred on November 22, 1861, and the mother was born in 1865. There they grew to maturity, attended school and were married and spent their earlier years, emigrating to America more than three decades ago. The mother died in Topeka, Kansas, in 1904, and in that city still resides the father. He is a machinist by trade. It was in the early eighties that he came to that city from his native country and there he has since resided. He soon found employment in the shops of the Santa Fe railroad in Topeka and he has since worked there in this capacity. His family consists of five children, namely: Frank A. of this review, he being the only one born in the old country; Rosa, Tressey, Anna and Emma. Frank A. Beyer was a small boy when he came to the United States, and he grew to manhood in Topeka, Kansas, and there attended the common schools, the high school and a business college, and as thus well equipped when he began life for himself. When a boy he began his career as railroader, serving his apprenticeship in the Santa Fe shops at Topeka, and later worked at many different places on that system, during a period of eight years. In 1904 he came to Springfield and began working as machinist in the North Side shops. When the new shops were opened he was promoted to the position of erecting foreman and in 1910 was promoted to general foreman of the locomotive department which responsible position he still holds, having a large number of skilled mechanics under his direction. Mr. Beyer was married on August 17, 1899, in Topeka, Kansas, to Carrie Mohmeyer, who was born in Louisville, Kentucky, September 7, 1882. She is a daughter of Henry and Anna (Sutter) Mohmeyer. Her father is a trunk maker by trade. Two children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Frank, born August 24, 1900, is attending Springfield high school; and Mary Etta, born October 1, 1906. Politically, Mr. Beyer is a Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to the Woodmen of the World, the Eagles and the Germania Hall Society. He is also a member of the Masonic lodge, including the Shriners. WILLIAM C. BILLASCH. Parents should carefully consider the inclinations of their children. "The great mistakes of life are owing in a large measure to the fact that young people adopt professions or enter businesses for which they have no natural ability. It is easy to see that if young men could start out in early life in the pursuit for which nature has best adapted them, and if they should persist in that line industriously and energetically, success would be assured in every instance, no matter if they were not possessed with brilliancy or unusual ability; persistence in this one line will bring success. William C. Billasch, foreman painter of the Springfield Wagon Works, has followed his profession from boyhood, having been fortunate in selecting the vocation for which he seems to have been well qualified by nature. Mr. Billasch was born in Dubuque, Iowa, June 18, 1856. He is a son of George F. Billasch, whose death occurred in Dubuque in 1910 at the age of eighty-three years. He had been inspector in a leather factory there and previously held a similar position in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a native of Germany, from which country he came to America when young and settled in Philadelphia, where he became superintendent of a large tannery. He came west at the age of twenty-nine years, establishing his future home in Dubuque, Iowa. After working there and at Sioux City for some time as leather inspector in factories, he worked as round house foreman for the Illinois Central Railroad Company for a period of forty years, retiring five years prior to his death. While living in Philadelphia he also engaged in the cooperage business for six or seven years. Politically, he was a Republican. He was a life member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, by which lodge he was buried. He belonged to the Lutheran church. His wife, who was Henrietta Louise Reinicka before her marriage, was a native of Germany, from which country she emigrated to the United States when a girl, locating in Philadelphia, and there she and Mr. Billasch were married. Her death occurred also in the year 1910, at the age of eighty-one years. These parents were an excellent old couple, industrious and honest. They were the parents of seven children, namely: William C., subject of this sketch; Theodore died when fourteen years of age; George is engaged in mercantile pursuits in Dubuque, Iowa; Edward is superintendent of a hardware factory in Chicago; Albert lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he is in the employ of the Indianapolis Railway and Construction Company; Henry Louis is deceased; he and Henrietta Louise were twins; she is the wife of August Northdorf, who is employed as foreman for the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, of Chicago. William C. Billasch received a common school education and took a course in a business college in Chicago. He studied two years at a night school. When thirteen years of age he went to work in the A. A. Cooper Wagon Works at Dubuque, Iowa; then worked three years in Chicago in the Schuttler Wagon Works, two and one-half years of which were spent in the painting department, and then was foreman in the plant of the Webber Wagon Company in Chicago for a period of seventeen years, in the painting department, and in that city he also worked a year in the Staver Manufacturing Company. From there he came to Springfield, Missouri, in the fall of 1895, and took a position as foreman painter in the plant of the Springfield Wagon Works, assuming charge of that department, which position he has held continuously for a period of twenty years, which fact would indicate that he has been not only an expert in his line but faithful and reliable all the while. Mr. Billasch was married August 30, 1879, to Catherine Wyant, a daughter of Peter and Christina (Eckert) Wyant. To our subject and wife six children have been born, one of whom is deceased. They were named as follows: Christina, deceased; Henrietta is the wife of A. A. Scott, a traveling salesman, and they live in Kansas City, Kansas; Louise is the wife of William Powell, who is engaged in the grocery and meat business in Kansas City, Kansas; George is record clerk for the telephone company at Springfield; Fred is clerking in Repp's dry goods store, Springfield; Gertrude, who has remained unmarried, lives at home and is employed as stenographer at the office of the Hall Drug Company, Springfield. Politically, Mr. Billasch is a Democrat and he has been more or less influential in local public affairs since coming to this city, and for two terms he served as a member of the city council from the fourth ward, under both Mayor Blain and Mayor Lee. His record as councilman was eminently creditable and satisfactory. Fraternally, he belongs to the Loyal Order of Moose and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, his membership in the latter being in Chicago. He is a member of the Reformed Lutheran church. FRANKLIN T. BISHOP. There are few more inspiring aphorisms in our tongue than Emerson's famous "Hitch your wagon to a star." Posterity is indebted to the Sage of Concord for the crisp and noble counsel so universally needed. The privilege belongs to us all of gearing our lives up to lofty motives, of glorifying our commonplace and prosaic days with ideal sentiments and aspirations. There is happy suggestion likewise in reversing the good advice, to sense its truth from a slightly different angle. It is just as good philosophy, and in many ways even more helpful, to read the words "Hitch your stars to your wagon." In other terms let the infinite forces help you, join with you in tugging your particular load up the hill, harness the mightiest power in the world to your human necessities. The life of Franklin T. Bishop, proprietor of beautiful "Clover Dale Farm" in Wilson township, Greene county, would indicate that he has ever striven to live up to high ideals and direct his efforts along well regulated lines, and therefore material success has attended his efforts and at the same time he has established a reputation for right thinking and wholesome living, and what necessarily follows-good citizenship. Mr. Bishop was born in Cumberland county, New Jersey, March 7, 1862. He is a son of Horace and Phoebe (Housted) Bishop. The, father was for many years engaged extensively in oyster raising on the Atlantic coast, and owned an interest in a large oyster vessel, with a crew of six men. He also owned a farm in that state. Mr. Bishop, of this sketch, grew to manhood in his native state and received his education in Cedarville, New Jersey, attending school during the winter months and during the crop season worked on the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, when he left home to seek his fortune in the great West. He selected the state of Nebraska, where he took up a claim of three hundred and twenty acres, which he homesteaded and on which he spent twenty-three years, developing it into a fine farm and there he prospered with advancing years, and added to his original holdings until he owned one thousand acres. He traded the entire amount for an excellent farm of four hundred and eighty acres in Kansas, and removed to the Sunflower state, continuing general farming with his former success for two years, then traded his farm there for Missouri land, in Mercer county, which he subsequently sold, and moved to Greene county, this state, where he now resides, and is now owner of a finely improved and productive farm of two hundred acres in Wilson township, on which he has an attractive residence and numerous substantial, convenient and :modernly appointed outbuildings. He raises a diversity of crops common to this latitude, but in connection with general farming he specializes in dairying, in poultry raising and handling blooded horses, and in one of the best-known and most successful stockmen in the western part of the county. His place is known as "Clover Dale Farm." He has a large herd of cows of an excellent quality, and he keeps his barn in a sanitary condition, and looks to the well-being and comfort of his stock at all seasons. His dairy products are all taken by a Springfield concern. Mr. Bishop also specializes in poultry raising, and does an extensive business in this line, keeping a large number of best breed of chickens, in the proper care of which he is well versed and is properly equipped for this work, and he also finds a very ready market for all his products in this department in Springfield. He is an admirer of good live stock of all kinds, especially horses, and he keeps a very fine herd of registered Percherons, including at this writing a stallion and four mares. His fine stock is greatly admired by all who sees it. Mr. Bishop has been twice married, first, in Mediapolis, Iowa, to Mary Bridges, and to this union eight children were born, seven of whom are living in Greene county, Missouri. The wife and mother passed away on May 7, 1910, and October 11, 1911, he married Etta Huffman, a daughter of Frank and Mary Huffman, formerly of Kentucky. The following are our subject's children, all by his first wife: Phoebe A., Gladys M., Ora M., Floy, Frank T., Laura K., Chester and Casper (deceased). Politically, Mr. Bishop is a, friend of prohibition, and religiously he and Mrs. Bishop are Christian Scientists. JAMES BISSETT. The pioneer railroader, for many years master mechanic in the Springfield shops, the gentleman whose life history is herewith outlined, was a man who lived to good purpose and achieved a large degree of success solely by his individual efforts. By a straightforward and commendable course Mr. Bissett climbed to a responsible position in his calling, winning the hearty admiration of his fellow workmen and earning a reputation as an enterprising, reliable, trustworthy and efficient man of affairs which a number of the leading railroad officials of the country were not slow to recognize and appreciate, and those who knew him best will readily acquiesce in the statement that he was eminently deserving of the good things which fate brought him during his life. James Bissett was born in Scotland, May 15, 1840, and had many of the characteristic traits of the noble race of Scots. His birth occurred within two blocks of the house in which Andrew Carnegie first saw the light of day, but his family brought him to America when he was a child and he was reared in Madison, Indiana, receiving his education in that town and in Indianapolis. However, his schooling was limited, and his knowledge, which was considerable and general, was acquired chiefly by experience in the practical affairs of life. He was a son of Thomas and Mary (Walker) Bissett, both natives of Scotland, where they grew up and were married. The father died in Madison, Indiana. He was a machinist by trade. His family consisted of seven children; five of whom are still living, namely: Thomas is deceased; Elizabeth; William; Robert; David; Ellen, and James of this sketch, who was the second in order of birth and who died on November 11, 1914. James Bissett returned to Madison, Indiana, after he left school in Indianapolis, and went to work in the railroad shops of North Madison, remaining there as an apprentice about four years, or until 1858, then went to Nashville, Tennessee, and from there to Huntsville, Alabama, where he was living when the war between the states began. He returned to Nashville and went to work in the Memphis & Nashville machine shops there, later ran a locomotive between Huntsville, Alabama, and Brownsville, Mississippi, and while thus engaged was captured at Huntsville by the Federals, the Fourth Ohio Cavalry, under Col. O. M. Mitchell. The invaders were later driven out of that city, and our subject went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, arriving there while General Bragg was crossing the river with his army, just prior to the battle of Chickamauga. He went on to Atlanta, being with Bragg's army most of the time. All the while he had been running an engine for the Confederates, and he took his engine from Atlanta to Macon, Georgia, later, where, the fire box giving out, he left it, and from there went to Selma, that state, and worked on the Blue Mountain route. From there he went to Birmingham, Alabama. He was captured at Selma by "Billy" Wilson. After the war Mr. Bissett came to Nashville and went to work on the Nashville & Chattanooga railroad as engineer, but in 1865 he returned to his old home in Madison, Indiana, then went to work for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company. Later he was in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, with headquarters at Galesburg, Illinois, and from there he went to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Union Pacific, which company sent him to Wyoming, in 1868, that country then being a territory. He ran an engine for some time and later was foreman of the company's shops at Laramie, remaining there three years, then came to Moberly, Missouri, and took charge of the old North Missouri shops, remaining there some time, then went with the Santa Fe road, and was the first master mechanic on that road west of Topeka, Kansas, his headquarters being at Dodge City, where he remained two years, after which he went to Los Angeles, California, in 1876, from which city he ran an engine to and from Wilmington. Later he went to Colton, at the edge of the desert, which was at the end of the road, which was only one hundred miles long. It was a private road at that time, but is now a part of the Southern Pacific. Subsequently Mr. Bissett ran a locomotive for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company between Parsons, Kansas, and Hannibal, Missouri. Leaving this company, he ran an engine out of Marshall, Texas, for the Texas Pacific road, and later was given an engine on the International Great Northern. He came to Kansas City in 1883 and was made foreman of the Missouri River, Ft. Scott & Gulf shops, remaining in charge of the same until October, 1890, when he came to Springfield, Missouri, as master mechanic for the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis road, remaining with the same until 1901, when this road was purchased by the Frisco System. He remained in the same capacity with the latter road, discharging his duties with his usual fidelity and success and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. When the old Gulf shops on the South Side were closed, he was retired with a pension, having reached the age limit. Mr. Bissett was married on December 25, 1866, in Madison, Indiana, to Levena Aigner, who was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, November 13, 1844. She is a daughter of M. C. Aigner and wife, her mother dying in the year 1865. She grew up in her native city and had the advantages of an excellent education. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bissett, two of whom are living, namely: James, born in Galesburg, Illinois, is deceased; Harry, born in Laramie, Wyoming, February 13, 1871, was graduated from the high school in Kansas City, after which he came to Springfield and went to work for the Frisco, beginning at the bottom, and is now foreman of the South Side shops. He married on June 27, 1900, Emma Weaver, daughter of Major Weaver and wife, and they have one child, Marion, born September 7 1903; Clyde, youngest child of our subject, was born March 19, 1876, and is living in Kansas City. Politically, Mr. Bissett was a Democrat. He was an interesting talker on early railroading in this country, and his vast experience in so many places, made his reminiscences entertaining and instructive. His death was a great loss to the community and he will long be remembered as one of Springfield's best citizens. GREEN IRWIN BLANCHARD. There is a recess in every man's brain that answers to the call of the wilderness, a heritage of pre-historic origin which will be with us always. If given the opportunity, it will respond at once to nature's beauty and depth. What is more natural than man's love for the conditions and environment that gave him food and shelter, enabling him to live during the dawn of his existence? Thus it is easy to understand why many of us prefer the country and life on the farm to that of the city. One such family is the Blanchards of whom Green Irwin Blanchard, of Center township, Greene county, is a creditable representative. For generations they have tilled the soil, made a good living and been happy. The older members knew what it was to fight the wilderness in order to live, but this they did courageously and successfully, and never complained that their lot was hard. Mr. Blanchard was born on December 17, 1838, at Russelville Logan county, Kentucky. He is a son of Henry Hudson Blanchard and Mary (Patton) Blanchard, both of whom were born, reared and educated in that county and state and there they were married and established their home. Their parents were from North Carolina, immigrating to the Blue Grass state in an early day. The family is of English origin but for the last four generations they have lived in the United States. When our subject was one year old he was brought by his parents in 1839 to Greene county, Missouri, the family locating in Center township on what is known as Leeper's Prairie and theirs was the first house built in that neighborhood, their nearest neighbor being over three miles away. When Henry H. Blanchard landed in the wilds of this locality his worldly possessions consisted of a broken down wagon, a team of ponies in the same condition and five dollars in money; but, being a man of enterprise, he forged ahead and at the time of his death in 1862 he had acquired over three hundred acres of good land, several hundred head of live stock and a competency, besides a comfortable home. This was considered quite an achievement for those days and proves the sterling mettle from which the Blanchards are made. His family consisted of but two sons, Green I. of this sketch and John A., who was born in 1836. The latter received his education in the district schools of Greene county and here worked on the home farm when a boy, and he devoted his active life to general farming. He took a deep interest in public affairs and in 1872 was elected recorder of deeds of Greene county, the duties of which office he ably discharged for four years, then moved back to the farm, and later he served fourteen years as justice of the peace and was a member of the school board for several years, giving satisfaction as a public servant in every respect; in fact, he was a strong personality and influential in his locality. His death occurred in 1895. Green I. Blanchard grew to manhood, on the home farm in Center township where he worked when a boy and he received his education in the schools of his community, attending subscription schools until he was fifteen years old, after which the public schools being established he attended them until he was twenty-one years old. He was twelve years old when the family moved to within a mile of Elwood and there our subject lived until his marriage in 1860 to Mary Eaton, who died in 1884. For his second wife he married Mrs. Mary E. Lawdermilk, nee Craven, a daughter of Thomas G. and Mary Craven, of Center township, in September, 1886. The first marriage resulted in the birth of seven children, six of whom are still living, namely: Dora A., born on September 26, 1865, married in 1883 A. A. Vaughan, a cabinet maker in the Frisco shops at Springfield, and they have one child, Earl, born on July 24, 1895; he was graduated from the Springfield public schools, and is now a teacher in a manual training school there. Delia A., born April 2, 1867, married in 1884, B. L. Chastain, a contractor of Springfield; Henry W., born on December 23, 1868, is a conductor on the Rock Island railroad, lives in Kansas City, married Cora O'Neil in 1890 and they have one child, Irwin, who was born in 1911. Fannie, born on November 9, 1870, married on May 30, 1893, Millard Brady, a railroad man of Parsons, Kansas; they have one child, Grace, who is now eleven years old; Robert Lee, born on August 12, 1874, who is a conductor on the Missouri Pacific railroad; he lives in Kansas City, and he married Bernice Gilty of that place. Virginia, born on September 3, 1877, married F. E. Blockman, a farmer living near Elwood, Center township, and they have two sons, Robert and June, fifteen and thirteen years old, respectively. John M., born on June 25, 1880, was a railroad man and died in Nevada, April 8, 1914; he married Della Kindrix, of Center township, this county, who, with one child, Geraldine, eleven years old, survives him. Our subject's second wife was born on May 27, 1855, in Randolph county, North Carolina; she was first married to Dr. A. A. Lowdermilk, who died in 1884. She spent her girlhood in North Carolina and there she was educated. When nineteen years of age she removed with her parents to, Greene county, Missouri, the family locating near Springfield where she livid until her marriage. Our subject has made a success as a general farmer. He moved to his present farm of fifty-five acres in Section 11, Center township, in 1892 and here he has a neat home. Mr. Blanchard was a soldier in the Civil war, having enlisted in May, 1863, in the Sixth Missouri Provisional Militia and served faithfully until August, 1864, with the rank of corporal. Fraternally, he is a member of United Lodge No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He belongs to the Baptist church. Politically, he is a Democrat. ANDREW JACKSON BODENHAMER. The faculty with which the American soldier laid down the implements of war, at the close of the great conflict between the Northern and Southern states, and adapted himself to the pursuits of civil life, has been the wonder of all nations, and scarcely less surprising than gratifying to the American people themselves. While not a few very profound citizens of the Republic were speculating as to what was to become of the thousands of men mustered out of the armies, the question was solved by the ex-soldiers themselves, who quietly stepped into the ordinary walks of life, bent the force of circumstances to their will, and became the chief promoters of a national progress which is without parallel in history. One of these honored veterans is Andrew Jackson Bodenhamer, a venerable farmer of Campbell township, and one of the oldest native-born citizens of Greene county. He has spent his life, which embraces three-quarters of a century, in this locality and has seen many vast changes in that time. He has lived on the same farm over half a century. Mr. Bodenhamer was born in Greene county, Missouri, September 13, 1839. He is a son of Jacob and Nettie (Goss) Bodenhamer, one of the pioneer families of this county. The reader will find adequate mention of them in the sketch of Louis F. Bodenhamer on another page of this volume. Andrew J. Bodenhamer grew to manhood on his father's farm, where he worked hard on the raw land and with the primitive agricultural implements of those frontier days. He received a limited education in the old-time rural schools and when a young man took up farming for himself, which he has made his life work, now owning a good farm of one hundred acres in Campbell township, where he has resided since the war, his wife having purchased the place in 1863. He has paid a great deal of attention to the raising of live stock in connection with general farming. On July 29, 1862, Mr. Bodenhamer enlisted for service in the Federal army, in Company A, Eighth Missouri Cavalry, and saw much hard service, taking part in many battles and skirmishes, serving until the close of the conflict under General Herron and General Davidson. Much of his time as a soldier was spent in Arkansas and he fought at Fort Smith, Van Buren, Little Rock and Prairie Grove, and was taken prisoner during the last named engagement. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged and returned home, resuming farming in Greene county. On September 6, 1860, Mr. Bodenhamer was united in marriage with Elizabeth Charlotte Wharton, a daughter of Emsley and Sarah (Crow) Wharton, who were among the old families of this locality. Mr. Wharton served in the Civil war in the same company and regiment in which our subject served, but it became necessary to discharge him before the close of the war owing to disability, sickness having overtaken him while at the front. . He was born in North Carolina, September 22, 1821, and his death occurred on September 28, 1898, in this county. His wife was born in Tennessee, February 2, 1825, and her death occurred in this county, February 8, 1899. They were both buried at Danforth cemetery. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Elizabeth C., wife of our subject, was born February 1, 1843; John William, born on October 20, 1844, lives on a farm in Greene county; Martha J., born on January 6, 1849, lives in Tulare, California; Mrs. Eliza Green, born on December 11, 1850, also makes her home in Tulare, California; Sarah C., born on December 22, 1852, lives in Portland, Oregon; Emsley Lee, born on January 15, 1855, died when nineteen years of age; Mary Lucinda, born on January 12, 1858, lives in Rogersville, Missouri; Mandy Tissie, born on February 6, 1861, lives in California. The father of these children devoted his life to general farming. Politically he was a Democrat, and he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, South. To Mr. and Mrs. Bodenhamer the following children were born, namely: Sarah Alice, born in 1861, is a graduate of the high school at Henderson, Missouri, she married J. A. M. Lanier, and they live on a farm in Greene county; Martha T., married J. E. Dennis, and they live near Rogersville, this state; Nettie J., who was educated at Mountain Home, Arkansas, is the wife of G. F. Dennis, and they live on a farm near the home of our subject; Emsley Lee, who is emloyed as salesman for the Diffenderffer Implement company, of Springfield, has an individual sketch of himself and family on another page of this work; Ira G. is engaged in farming in California. Politically Mr. Bodenhamer is a Democrat, but he has never been active in political affairs. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has been an active worker for many years. EMSLEY L. BODENHAMER. By a life consistent in motive and action and because of his many commendable personal qualities, Emsley L. Bodenhamer, for many year's a successful farmer and stock raiser in Greene county, who is now connected with one of the leading implement houses of Springfield, has earned the sincere regard of all who know him. He came from an ancestry that distinguished itself in pioneer times, having, had in them that unrest of the old world races that drives humanity ever westward on its great adventure, globe-girdlers and zone-conquerors. His progenitors were courageous, large-muscled, a stolid sort of people, in whom acute imagination was coupled with immense initiative, and who possessed, withal, loyalty and affection as sturdy as their own strength. He has inherited many of their commendable attributes. Mr., Bodenhamer was born on December 27, 1872, five miles cast of Springfield, on the old homestead. He is a son of Andrew J. and Charlotte Elizabeth (Wharton) Bodenhamer, the former a native of Greene county and the latter of South Carolina, from which state she came to Missouri overland in an early day with her parents. The parents of Andrew J. Bodenhamer were among the pioneer settlers of Greene county, locating on a farm which they developed by hard work, enduring the usual hardships of life on the frontier. On the farm our subject's father grew up and worked when a boy, and he attended the early-day schools, in his vicinity. He has devoted his life successfully to general farming, in which he is still engaged. He and his wife are both now advanced in years. His farm formerly consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, but is now only one hundred acres, he having disposed of the balance, not caring to be burdened with so much land in his old age. During the Civil war he enlisted, in 1861, in the Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, in Springfield, and he served three years in a faithful and gallant manner. Six children, all living, have been born to Andrew J. Bodenhamer and wife, namely: Alice, William, Tenny, Josephine, Emsley L. and Ira G. The subject of this sketch grew up on the home farm and there he assisted his father with the general work when a boy, and in the winter months he attended the common schools in Seymour and his native vicinity. He made his start in life on the farm. When twenty years of age he went to Tulare, California, where he spent three years, then returned to Greene county and resumed farming on a place containing two hundred and ten acres, near the old homestead. He continued general farming and stock raising on a large scale for eight or nine years, then sold out and moved to Springfield, in 1906, bought city property and went to work for the Diffenderffer Implement Company, at Market and Walnut streets, and has been employed by this firm continuously to the present time. He has proven to be a most energetic, capable and trustworthy employee and has drawn a great deal of trade f or the firm. Mr. Bodenhamer was married on December 18, 1895, to Mattie L. Quisenberry, who was born in Greene county, Missouri, June 10, 1878, and here she grew to womanhood and was educated. She is a daughter of Elcano and Ellen (Vandergrift) Quisenberry. One child has been born to our subject and wife, Minnie K. Bodenhamer, whose birth occurred on June 28, 1897. She is attending the Normal School here and is taking a course in music, having decided natural ability in this line. Politically, Mr. Bodenhamer is a Democrat, and, fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. LOUIS F. BODENHAMER. Much worthy effort is expended in producing good crops, but often times a gain in the best of crops is lost by feeding to inefficient live stock. There is no surer way of losing money than by feeding crops to animals, the products or gain from which do not pay the cost of feeding. Some men attribute their success to the particular kind of crops they grow or the particular way of feeding live stock. More likely their success is due to a good-sized farm business, good or average crops and a superior quality of live stock. One of the young farmers of Greene county who, judging from his success, understands the proper handling of his grains and live stock so as to get the best results is Louis F. Bodenhamer of Campbell township, who lives on the old homestead just east of the outskirts of Springfield. Mr. Bodenhamer was born on the place where he now lives, June 16, 1878. He is a son of Joseph J. and Laura (Farris) Bodenhamer, and a grandson of Jacob and Nettie (Goss) Bodenhamer. The father of Nettie Goss was a major in the Revolutionarv war. Jacob Bodenhamer was born in North Carolina, where he spent his boyhood, and in a very early day immigrated to Greene county, Missouri, in 1842, settling in what is now a part of Webster county. He was a prosperous farmer and at one time owned seven hundred acres of land. After spending eight years on the first place he settled here, he removed to the place now occupied by our subject, which he improved and on which he spent the rest of his life. He erected the first frame house ever seen in this part of Greene county. He became prominent in public affairs, and was for some time presiding judge of the county court, serving for one dollar per day, riding daily from his home to the court house when there was business to transact. He was a Thomas H. Benton Democrat. His death occurred in 1860 and he was buried in the family cemetery near his home. His wife was a native of North Carolina and they were married there. To them eighteen children were born, only five of whom are living at this writing, namely: Joseph J. and Jacob E., twins, the latter living in California; Martin Van Buren lives at Mountain Home, Arkansas; Andrew Jackson lives in Greene county, and Thomas H. Benton lives at Rogersville, Missouri. Joseph J. Bodenhamer was born on November 20, 1834, in North Carolina and there he spent his early childhood, being eight years of age when his parents brought him to Missouri and here he grew up on the farm, working hard in helping clear and improve the wild land and he received a meager education in the early day schools. He has devoted his life to general farming and is still active, living on the homestead east of Springfield. He has managed well and has made a success. During the Civil war he enlisted in the state militia, and served in the Federal ranks under General Holland, being in the same regiment with his twin brother, but the rest of his living brothers were in the regular Union army. After the war he returned to his farm and has since lived a quiet uneventful life. On January 6, 1859, he married Elizabeth W. Steele, of this county, and to them three children were born, namely, John A., James E., of Eldorado, Oklahoma, and Elizabeth E. The wife and mother died on December 10, 1870, and on November 13, 1871, he chose for his second wife Laura Farris. This union resulted in the birth of only one child, Louis F., subject of this sketch. The death of Mrs. Laura Bodenhamer occurred on January 19, 1898. Joseph J. Bodenhamer was in his earlier life a Democrat, but is now a Socialist. He is a member of the Christian church. He is a well-read man and an intelligent conversationalist. He is widely known and has friends all over the county, having lived here over three-score and ten years, and during this long period saw many important changes in the county and city. Louis F. Bodenhamer was reared on the home farm and he received his education in the country schools, later taking a two-year academy course. On October 3, 1909, he was united in marriage with Iva Gerhardt, a daughter of Fred and Mattie (Molder) Gerhardt. She was born in Camden county, Missouri, and was educated in the common schools. Her father is a prominent man in that county and holds the position of judge of the first district there. His wife is a native of Tennessee. Louis F. Bodenhamer has remained on the home farm and is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. He is a Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to Mumford lodge No. 738, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past grand knight. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. GEORGE IRVIN BOMGARDNER, D. V. S. Foresight is one of the greatest assets of the individual. We all know what we should have done yesterday. The real trouble is to know what to do today. There are opportunities in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas for the young and middle-aged men who are not afraid to work and wait for time to bring them recompense for their years of toil. In the Ozarks, in the country and in the town there are innumerable opportunities awaiting men with foresight, but the majority of these opportunities will not be seen by the present generation until they are brought within the range of vision of their retrospection. Among the exceptions is Dr. George Irvin Bomgardner, a promising young veterinarian of Ash Grove, Greene county, who had the foresight to first get ready to do something that needed doing well and then locate in a country that abounds in opportunities and has a great future. Dr. Bomgardner was born at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 28, 1882. He is a son of John and Adeline E. (Hawkins) Bomgardner. The father was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, about 1848, and when quite young he went to Iowa among the pioneer settlers, and was living there when the war between the states began, and although he was quite young, he enlisted in the one hundred day service in an Iowa volunteer regiment and served faithfully until his term expired and he was honorably discharged. When a young man he learned the painter's trade and followed that for some time, later engaged in the coal and livery business. In 1875 he began farming, which he followed with success until 1895, in Iowa, when he moved to Greene County, Missouri, and bought a farm in Center township, adjoining the town of Bois D'Arc, and here he spent the rest of his life, dying on June 4, 1898. His widow survived until November 26, 1913. Politically he was a Democrat, and he belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic. Dr. Bomgardner grew to manhood on his father's farm in Missouri and assisted with the general work there. After his father's death he and his younger brother took charge of the farm. He had the advantages of a good common school education, and later he entered the Western Veterinary College, where he spent one year, then was a student for three years at the Kansas City Veterinary College, making an excellent record there, and was graduated in 1911. The first Missouri Kansas City Veterinary College Club was organized that year and our subject was elected vice-president and the following year he was elected president. Soon after graduating he began the practice of his profession at Ash Grove, where he has since remained and has built up a large, satisfactory and rapidly growing practice, and has had uniform success. He is very studious and keeps fully abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession. Dr. Bomgardner was married on July 6, 1904, to Mary M. Hudgings, who was born in Boone township, this county, on September 6, 1881, and here she grew to womanhood and received a good public school education. She is a daughter of F. M. and Dorthula (Gilmore) Hudgings. To our subject and wife two children have been born, namely: Dorothy A., who is attending school, and Gertrude A. Politically the doctor is a Progressive, and religiously he belongs to the Baptist church. In March, 1913, he organized the Baptist Young Men's Organization, the only organization of its kind. Dr. Bomgardner is a teacher and active worker in the Sabbath school. He is Scout Master of the Boy Scouts of America at Ash Grove, and is also a Free and Accepted Mason in the Blue Lodge. IRA CARL BON. It has been by close application and persistent, honest work that Ira Carl Bon, general foreman of the reclamation department of the South Side Frisco shops, has risen from a machinist's apprentice to his present responsible position, and not by the influence of friends or the inscrutable working of fate. He is a man of personal worth and popularity and enjoys the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact. He is enterprising and progressive by both word and example and seeks to infuse that spirit into those with whom he is associated. Mr. Bon was born May 3, 1876, at Centerville, Iowa. He is a son of George Bon, who was a native of New York, from which state he came to the Middle West when a young man and entered railroad service, and is at this writing coach inspector at Centerville, Iowa, for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, having been employed by this road for a period of thirty-three years. He helped build the shops of this company at Centerville and has remained there ever since. He is sixty-seven years old. He has charge of the superintendent's office and the depot. He is a member of the Christian church and is a thirty-second degree Mason, and belongs to the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; also belongs to the Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His wife was known in her maidenhood as Eva Swearengin; she is fifty-five years old. Their only child is the subject of this sketch. I. Carl Bon's grandfather was Henry Bon, a native of Germany, from which country he immigrated to America when a young man. He was a cigar maker by trade, and later in life became a railroad contractor, and was for years a builder and contractor in the state of New York and in Iowa, maintaining his home for some time at Centerville. The subject of this sketch grew to manhood at Centerville, Iowa, and there attended the common schools until he was sixteen years old, when he began serving his apprenticeship as machinist in the shops of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad at that place, remaining there from 1898 to 1905, then worked for the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroad at Canton, Ohio, as storekeeper in the supply department, from 1906 to 1910. In 1910 he went in business for himself, as agent for several standard makes of automobiles. He continued in this field with success until 1914, in March of which year he secured employment with the Frisco Lines at Springfield as general foreman in the reclamation department, and he is discharging the duties of this responsible position in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. He has under his direction three hundred and fifty men. Politically, Mr. Bon is an independent voter. Fraternally, he belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is a member of the Christian church. He was married in 1908 to Alice Harvey, a daughter of William E. and Mary M. (Streepy) Harvey, of Centerville, Iowa, in which city she grew to womanhood and was educated. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, her grandfather having been a soldier in that war. To our subject and wife one child, Maxine Bon, has been born, whose birth occurred June 20, 1910. WALDO CORNWELL BOOTH. It would be to most of us a source of genuine gratification to be able to trace our ancestry back through the centuries, and to know how they lived, what they looked like, what they followed for a livelihood, what they did in the world and what their ambitions were; but, unfortunately, here in America, few of us are able to do this; in fact, the majority of us know practically nothing of our progenitors beyond our grandparents. The Booth family, formerly, spelled Bothe, Bouthe and Boothe, seems to have had a greater pride in their family tree and made a careful record of each generation, so that the history of the family is today accurately traceable back through some six centuries. We find that it is an ancient English family, and prominent and influential both in that country and in America, whither some of the family immigrated among the first in the earliest Colonial period, their descendants now numbering thousands and are to be found all over the Union. The family name first occurs in the county palatine of Lancaster, England, where a son of Adam de Boothe was living in 1275. All the other families of this name in various parts of England and America are believed to be descended from this parent stock, through its younger branches. From his son William the family comes down through Thomas, Robert and Sir Thomas, who was knighted during the reign of Edward III in the thirteenth century; his son John lived during the reign of Richard II. We come on down to Sir Robert Booth, the first of the family to settle at Dunham Massey, in Cheshire, who died there in 1450. Several members of the family about this period became bishops and great lawyers and statesmen, and many of them married into families of the nobility, Sir George Booth, who died in 1483, marrying a relative of the King of Scotland. The Booths were also people of wealth, owning vast estates. We find that, coming on down the line, Sir George Bouthe was knighted by Queen Elizabeth during the latter part of the fifteenth century, and died in 1652. Sir George Bouthe, who died in 1684, was a member of parliament and commander-in-chief of the English army in Wales and western England, and was for eminent services created a baron by Charles II, and from him descended a line of barons to Earl George H. Grey of Stamford, who was living in 1825. Richard Boothe of Stamford, ancestor of the name in Connecticut, and for whom the city of Stamford was named, was born in 1607, but it is not known from what part of England nor in what year he emigrated to America. He held various offices of trust in his new home and seems to have been an influential man in Colonial affairs. His large landed property was divided among his children. During that early period of our history we also know that Robert Boothe lived at Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1645, removing to Saco, where he died in 1672; and John Boothe, who lived at Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1656; Humphrey Boothe was a merchant at Charlestown, Massachusetts. Richard Boothe mentioned above, married Elizabeth Hawley, and to them eight children were born, namely: Elizabeth, Anne, Ephraim, Ebenezer, John, Joseph, Bethiah and Johanna. From these children descended the numerous Booths of the present generation throughout America. Waldo Cornwell Booth, subject of this memoir, was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, May 21, 1836, and was a son of George and Abby (Cornwell) Booth. Both his grandparents were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. George Booth was engaged in the foundry business in New Brittan, Connecticut, for a number of years, finally removing to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he lived with his son our subject. Waldo C. Booth received an exceptionally good education for the period in which he lived. He grew to manhood in his native state, and remained in New England until 1853, when he came to Cincinnati with an uncle and there engaged in the hardware business, first securing employment in a store and finally working his way up until he became a member of the firm of R. W. Booth & Company, which for years was rated as the largest wholesale hardware company in that city, and there our subject became a prominent man in both business and social circles, and he made a great success as a merchant through his close application, honest dealings and the exercise of sound judgment. He came to Springfield, Missouri, in 1870, on account of failing health, which, being restored by the change, he again engaged in the hardware business, operating here one of the largest and best patronized stores of its kind in the city, and enjoying an excellent trade, and later he also engaged in the tobacco manufacturing business here, one of his most famous brands being "Old Coon," well remembered by the older smokers of the country. Mr. Booth was married on September 6, 1865, to Martha Thomas, who was born in Buffalo, New York, December 11, 1839. She is a daughter of Calvin F. S. and Eliza (Shields) Thomas, the former a native of New York City, where his birth occurred in 1808, the family later removing to Norfolk, Virginia. After the death of his father he, with his mother and sister, went to Boston, where he established a printing office. Later he settled in Buffalo, New York, where he engaged for some time in the publication of a newspaper and in the wholesale paper business, owning a large paper warehouse there. Meanwhile he had married and reared a family. After the death of his wife he gave up his business and made his home with his daughter, who had married Waldo C. Booth, our subject, in Cincinnati, the family coming to Springfield in 1869. Mr. Thomas did not engage in business here of any kind, his failing health compelling him to lead a quiet, retired life. The Springfield people who yet remember him recall him as a silent but cultured, kindly gentleman. He died in 1876 while in Buffalo, New York, where he had gone on a visit. Mr. Thomas knew America's greatest author, Edgar Allen Poe, whom he befriended when he was engaged in the printing business in Boston, in 1827. Mr. Thomas then being about eighteen years old. He was a poor boy, and with the assistance of a widowed mother and what he could earn by his printing business, was trying to get an education. In that year he met Poe, who was about the same age, and who was then in the United States army, where he was known as Edgar A. Perry. He prevailed on Thomas to publish a volume of his poems, and when the thin, forty page volume was issued the title page was as follows: "Tamerlane and Other Poems. By a Bostonian. Boston: Calvin F. S. Thomas, Printer. 1827." It was of cheap paper, poorly executed mechanically, and rudely bound. It contained ten poems, some of them without any title. But four of them, "Tamerlane," "The Lake," "To ______," and "Visit of the Dead," always appeared in later editions, and these four were subjected to so much revision that they bear but small resemblance to their original form. To Waldo C. Booth and wife four children were born, namely: Stanley C., who is head bookkeeper for the McGregor-Noe Hardware Company of Springfield, married Lydia Wood; Fred is deceased; Ralph W. is also deceased; George H., who is now connected with the Springfield Wagon Company, married Grace Hyner of St. Louis. Waldo C. Booth was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, having enlisted at Cincinnati in 1861 in the Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was soon commissioned first lieutenant, later became a captain. He was subsequently given command of a company in the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He proved to be an efficient officer, and took part in numerous important engagements. Politically, he was a. Democrat. He was a member of the school board for a number of terms, and he was often solicited to make the race for mayor of Springfield, but always declined. Fraternally he was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and religiously he was a Unitarian. He belonged to the Shakespeare Club of Cincinnati. In his earlier life he was an enthusiastic sportsman. Personally he was admired by all who knew him for his integrity, business ability and exemplary character. ROBERT A. BOWLAND. Robert A. Bowland has established a reputation for honesty and integrity which is attested by the high estimation in which he is held by his fellow citizens, being a citizen and neighbor highly honored in his locality, and in his sphere of life, nobly and faithfully, has he performed every duty that presented itself. Formerly he was one of our efficient school teachers, and later served Greene county many years as treasurer, and thus is well known over the city and county. He is a man of positive temperament, firm in his convictions, forcible and fearless in his adhesion to principles, and is regarded by all who know him as an honorable man and obliging gentleman. Mr. Bowland was born in Morrow county, Ohio. He is a son of Boyd M. and Mar Elizabeth (Colmery) Bowland, both natives of Pennsylvania, from which state they moved to Ohio when young and were married in the latter state, and were educated in the public schools. The mother of our subject taught school for some time prior to her marriage; Boyd M. Bowland devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. He moved his family from Ohio to Greene county, Missouri, when his son, Robert A., of this sketch was a small child. Politically, the elder Bowland was a Republican. During the Civil war he was a soldier in the Union army, and after the war he served for some time as postmaster at Iberia, Morrow county, Ohio. Eleven children were born to Boyd M. and Elizabeth Bowland, eight of whom are living at this writing. They were named as follows: Charles C. and Harry C. are the two eldest; Boyd M., Jr., is deceased; Robert A., of this sketch; William B. is deceased; David M., Cora E., Edward B., Leroy R. and Calvin are all living; and Samuel M., the youngest, is deceased. Robert A. Bowland grew to manhood on the home farm and there assisted with the work when a boy. He received a good education in the public schools and the normal school in Springfield. He began life for himself by engaging in farming for a few years, then taught school a number of years with much success, and later was a deputy assessor, and served as such in the Greene county court house for three years under W. A. Smith. During that time he mastered thoroughly the ins and outs of the office, and in 1904 made the race for county treasurer and was elected by a large majority. His record as a public official in this connection was so highly commendable and he proved to be such a careful, honest and obliging public servant, that he was re-elected and held the office eight years, to the satisfaction of all concerned. Mr. Bowland owns a good home in Springfield, which is tastily kept by a lady of refinement, known in her maidenhood as Emma V. Kerr, whom Mr. Bowland married in 1895. She is a native of Kansas, and when she was but a child she came with her parents to Greene county, Missouri, locating on a farm near Republic, where she completed her education in the Republic high school. To this union one child was born, Robert Paul, born at Republic, Missouri, August 19, 1900, and is at home attending public school. Her parents were born in Indiana and went to the Sunflower state many years ago, but remained only a few years. Politically, Mr. Bowland is a Republican. He and his family are members of the First Baptist church, in which he is a deacon and an active worker. Fraternally, our subject belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. Mrs. Bowland is a charter member of the Wild Rose camp, Royal Neighbors, of Republic. BENJAMIN BOWMAN. It requires men of peculiar temperament to be successful railroad conductors. There are many who have spent several decades, perhaps, in railroad service who are still utterly unfit to take charge of a passenger train, although they may be quite capable in some other specific line of railroading. Among other attributes essential to a successful conductor are fortitude, patience, quickness of perception and coolness of temper, also a steady nerve; for one is often called upon without an instant's warning to meet trying and exacting situations. One of the trusted and popular conductors on the Frisco lines is Benjamin Bowman, who has been with this company for over fifteen years and in the railroad service for a period of thirty-three years; having had varied experience in different parts of the country. Mr. Bowman was born on February 27, 1865, in Shelby county, Illinois. He is a son of Harrison and Sarah (Yarbrough) Bowman, the father born in the old Keystone state of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and the mother was a native of Kentucky. The former, whose birth occurred in 1839, is still living in Shelby county, Illinois. He was a successful farmer during his active life, but is now living in retirement in the town of Cowden. The mother of our subject died when he was about six years of age. To these parents five children were born, namely: Mary, John W., Benjamin, Joe is deceased, and James. Benjamin Bowman grew to manhood on the home farm in Illinois where he worked hard when a boy, and there he received a limited education in the public schools. In 1881 he began his career as a railroader in the Burlington shops at Beardstown, Illinois, but a little later he began as brakeman for the same road and continued in this capacity until 1885, when he was promoted to freight conductor. In I887 he went to Temple, Texas, and went to work as freight conductor for the Santa Fe road, about two years later he was promoted to passenger conductor, his run being from Temple to Galveston. Leaving the Santa Fe road in 1895 he went to work for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas out of Houston, Texas. About ten months later he went to Mexico, and ran a train for the Mexican Central railroad out of San Luis Potosi. Later he went to Vera Cruz, where he remained nine or ten months, in charge of a mixed train on the Inter Oceanic Railroad, then went to Salatio, Mexico, and worked on the Mexican National railroad, having a mixed run. After remaining in the land of the ancient Montezumas until 1898 he gave up his position there and came to Springfield, Missouri and secured employment with the Frisco as freight conductor in which capacity he worked a few years then was given a passenger run between Springfield and St. Louis which he has retained for the past eleven years. Mr. Bowman was married on January 30, 1889, in Sealy, Texas, to Lillie, Harvey, who was born on a plantation in the Lone Star state, and there she was reared and educated. Her death occurred on December 27, 1909. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowman four children were born, namely: Bennie, the eldest daughter, was born on May 3, 1894; Gordon, born on September 13, 1895; Chester, born September 1, 1904; Virginia, born on October 30, 1908. In May, 1911, Mr. Bowman was married a second time, his last wife being known in her girlhood as Sarah Willia. She was born in Mobile, Alabama, February 27, 1882, and is the daughter of a physician. She grew up under the environments of a Southern home and she had excellent educational advantages. To this union of our subject and wife one child has been born, Lois, whose birth occurred on January 3, 1912. Politically, Mr. Bowman is a Democrat. He is an Episcopalian in his religious affiliations, and fraternally is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also holds membership in Division No. 321 brotherhood of Railway Conductors. He lives in Denning Place, on the north side of the city. JOHN R. BOYD, M.D. It is not always easy to discover and define the hidden forces that move life of ceaseless activity and a large professional success; little more can be done than to note their manifestation in the career of the individual under consideration. In view of this fact, the life of the physician and public-spirited man of affairs whose name appears above affords a striking example of well defined purpose with the ability to make that purpose subserve not only his own ends but the good of his fellow men as well. Doctor Boyd has long held distinctive prestige in a calling which requires for its basis sound mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order. In his chosen field of endeavor Doctor Boyd has achieved success and his present eminent standing among the leading medical men of southwest Missouri is duly recognized and appreciated, not only in Springfield and Greene county, where he has been engaged in the practice for the past score of years, but also throughout this section of the state. Dr. John R. Boyd was born in Logan county, Kentucky, December 16, 1854. He is the son of R. G. H. and Isabella (Herndon) Boyd, both natives of Kentucky. The father was a land owner and ranked among the leading citizens of his community. His wife's people, the Herndons, were also extensive land owners in the Blue Grass state. The death of Mrs. Boyd occurred when her son, John R.. was only six weeks old. She was a devout member of the Baptist church. To R. G. H. Boyd and wife four sons and four daughters were born. Three sons and one daughter survive. The living daughter makes her home in Lawton, Oklahoma. Our subject's surviving brothers are engaged -in farming in Kentucky and Oklahoma. Doctor Boyd grew up on the farm and received his early education in the common schools and in Auburn Academy. He remained in Kentucky until 1879, when he came to Jackson county, Missouri, where he taught school and began reading medicine. He spent one year in the Bellevue Medical Hospital College of New York City-and completed his medical education in the University of Louisville, Kentucky, from which institution he graduated with the class of 1886, later taking a post-graduate course from the Post Graduate School in Chicago, also a post-graduate course from the Polyclinic Institute of Chicago. He began the practice of his profession at Butler, Bates county, Missouri, in 1886, where he remained until 1895, when, seeking a larger field for the exercise of his talents, he removed to Springfield and has since been successfully engaged in the general practice of medicine, being successful from the first, and during this period of nearly twenty years has occupied an envied position among his professional brethren. In 1901 Doctor Boyd was elected state medical director of the Modern Woodmen of America, which important office he still holds with much credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned. He was one of the promoters of the Missouri Fidelity and Casualty Company, at the organization of which he was elected a director, also medical director, and in 1912 was elected president of the company. He is now a director of the Southern Surety Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Several years ago he was president of the Greene County Medical Society for one term. He still holds membership in the Greene County Medical Society, the Southwest Missouri Medical Society, and the Missouri State Medical Association. Doctor Boyd was one of the founders of the Springfield Hospital, and has been a director in the same from the first, and for the first few years was treasurer and is now secretary of the same. He maintains a modern suite of rooms in the Holland building, Springfield. He has been very successful in a financial way and has been interested in numerous business enterprises and has been influential in the latter-day upbuilding of the Queen City. Politically, he has always been a stanch Democrat and, fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic order, including the Council and the Royal Arch degrees. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and has always been interested in lodge affairs. Doctor Boyd was married in 1883 to Nannie M. Montgomery, of Lebanon ,Kentucky, in which state she grew to womanhood and received her education. She is a daughter of a farmer and stockman and an excellent old family. She has been prominent in the best social circles since coming to Springfield, and is an active member of several clubs. The union of Doctor Boyd and wife has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Lillian Boyd. She is a young lady of exceptional talent and refinement. She was graduated from the Academy of Drury College and afterward received the degree of A. B. Cum Lauda from that college. Miss Boyd spent a year at the College of Hawaii, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, where she specialized in science, taking the degree of B.S. She was an enthusiastic member of the college fraternities, Mu Beta and Ph Bi Phi. The Doctor is a gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet, at once impressing you with his polished Southern manners, his directness, frankness and learning, also his unpretentious simplicity. RAY C. BOYER. Ray C. Boyer was born at Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1880. He is a son of Lukes Boyer, who was born in Allentown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. He was a carpenter and contractor by trade, and spent many years of his life at the city of Meadville, where his death occurred in 1888, and he was buried at Sackerton, Pennsylvania. He was about fifty years of age. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also belonged to the Lutheran church. His widow, who was known in her maidenhood as Nancy Beige, is now living in Springfield and is the wife of August Drishaver, a carpenter and contractor. Our subject is the only child by her first marriage, and there are no children by her last marriage. Stephen Boyer, paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, later moving to Crawford county, that state. He was a tanner by trade, but followed farming in his later life, owning a small farm. The Boyer family is of French extraction, and upon immigrating to America, settled first at Trenton, New Jersey, later locating in Pennsylvania. Boyertown, that state, was named after members of this old family, which has lived in the United States since before the Revolutionary war, in which conflict several of the Boyer men fought under George Washington. Ray C. Boyer spent his boyhood in Pennsylvania, and was educated in the Meadville public schools leaving school when seventeen years of age, he began learning the painter's trade, which he followed three years. In 1898 he came to Springfield, Missouri, with his mother and stepfather, and secured a position as hostler in the shops of the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis Railroad. On June 27, 1909, he was promoted by the Frisco, which company leased the former railroad in 1900, to engineer, after he had been working as fireman for some time, and he is at this writing night engineer in the south side shops. Mr. Boyer was married twice, first, in 1904 to Nellie Massey, a daughter of Bud and Thressa (Rathbone) Massey. Her death occurred in December, 1905. His second marriage was celebrated in 1908, when he married Eva Massey, a sister of his first wife. Both marriages were without issue. Mr. Boyer is a Democrat. He is a member of the National Association of Steam Engineers, the Modern Brotherhood of American Engineers and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He lives on Wassola street, where he built a cosy home a few years ago. THOMAS H. BRADLEY. One of the chief concerns of every man in the productive period of his life is to accumulate sufficient means to enable him to properly care for himself and family in old age. Many men start out with the best of intentions, but err in business judgment and find themselves penniless in old age. Others seem to be followed by unfortunate circumstances classified under the general heading of "hard luck." Thomas H. Bradley has exercised such sound judgment and persistency in his active career that he has been able to earn a good livelihood and rear his family in comfort and respectability, notwithstanding the usual adversities that occasionally beset the pathways of every mortal. Mr. Bradley was born in Sumner county, Tennessee, September 17, 1844. He is a son of Isaac F. and Sarah (Mabery) Bradley, an excellent old Tennessee couple who devoted many years to successful farming in Sumner county. The father received excellent educational advantages and was a good scholar. He was born in 1820 and died March 8, 1879. Mrs. Bradley was born in 1820 and died March 9, 1906. Thomas H. Bradley grew up on the home farm. As a lad he was not very strong and his education was limited. He left his native state early in 1855, and arrived in Greene county, Missouri, on April 5th of that year, locating on a farm near Springfield, when the place was a small village, He continued to follow farming here until 1879, when he established a livery business in Springfield, which he conducted until 1886, when he sold out and went back to farming, which he carried on with his usual success until 1894, when he moved back to Springfield and did a general live stock and trading business until in October, 1913, when he bought a livery, feed and sale stable at 1220 North Campbell street, which he-conducted until recently. Mr. Bradley enlisted during the early part of the Civil war in Greene county, in the Seventy-second Regiment, State Militia, in which he served for some time, later enlisting in Company E, Sixteenth Missouri Cavalry, under Captain Headley, serving ten months, but was not in any engagements. During the latter part of the war he married and hired a substitute to fill out his military service. Mr. Bradley married in Greene county, in September 16, 1863, Mary Louisa Akin, who was a daughter of Lafayette and Patsey (Stricklin) Akin who were both born in Tennessee, east of the Cumberland mountains. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bradley, named as follows: Thomas Franklin is the eldest; John Harvey is deceased; Mrs. Lola May Smith, William W., Samuel L., Robert Lee lives in Kansas City; Mrs. Evelia Stocker lives in Kansas City; Luella is deceased; Elsie is also deceased. Our subject owns several valuable pieces of city property here. Mrs. Bradley is a member of the Baptist church. Politically, our subject is a Republican. JAMES B. BRAZILL. One of the best known citizens of the southern part of Greene county is James Buchanan Brazill, a general farmer and fine stock grower living near Galloway Station, southeast of Springfield. Mr. Brazill is a native of Sharon, Pennsylvania, having been born there, December 14, 1856. His father, H. L. Brazill, was a farmer and small store keeper in Sharon and Meadville for a number of years. He was a stanch Democrat and great admirer of President Buchanan and for that reason named the subject of our sketch after the man who had just been elected President. Young Brazill was given a good education in the local schools and graduated from what was then known as the Harrisburg Academy in June, 1875. For three years he worked in his father's store and then, having married Lorrie Steele, he moved to the Western Reserve in Ohio, where his wife's father was farming and remained there until October, 1884, when he moved to Greene county, Missouri. He at once went to farming and has succeeded to a remarkable degree. Mr. and Mrs. Brazill have three daughters, Hester, Lorrie and. Martha, all married except Martha. The Brazill farm is known throughout the county for its high state of cultivation and for the fine cattle and hogs raised there, it being the motto of the owner, "If it is worth doing it is worth doing right." Mr. Brazill and all his family are members of the Baptist church of which communion he is a deacon. He has served nine years as school trustee and was some twenty years ago justice of the peace for one term. He takes great interest in Democratic politics and is a great admirer of Champ Clark, speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Brazill was elected several times to state Democratic conventions as a delegate. CECIL ALVIN BRIGGS. By his close observance of fundamental rules of business, based upon honesty, rectitude and fidelity to trusts and confidences reposed in him, Cecil Alvin Briggs, secretary and general manager of the George Briggs Lumber Company, of Springfield, has achieved success while yet young in years, won the public esteem and fixed his star in the ascendant. In all relations of life he is courteous and cordial in his friendships, cautious, temperate, ambitious, zealous, consistent, moral and circumspect in his daily existence, and punctuality is one of his maxims. Mr. Briggs was born July 19, 1887, at Verona, Lawrence county, Missouri. He is a son of Sylvester A. Briggs, who was born September 26, 1847, in Fountain county, Indiana, and was of French-English descent. He grew to manhood in Illinois and received his education in the common schools near the city of Danville. He began life for himself as a school teacher and followed this profession for a period of upwards of fifteen years, in Douglas county, Illinois, where his services were in large demand and he became known as one of the leading educators of the county. Leaving the Prairie State in 1885, he located at Verona, Missouri, where he engaged in the lumber business until 1910, also maintained his home for a time during that period at Siloam Springs, Benton county, Arkansas, where he has retail lumber interests. About five years ago he retired from active life, having accumulated a competency for his old age, and is now living quietly with his son, our subject, in the Briggs residence on West Commercial street, Springfield. The firm of Briggs & Wilks, with which he was connected in southern Missouri so long, became well known. He is now in his seventy-seventh year. Politically he is a Republican, always took an active interest in public affairs was justice of the peace for a period of eight years, and was also secretary of the school board at Verona for a period of eleven years, filling these offices in a manner that reflected credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of the public. He is a devout member of the Christian church and for many years was an elder in, the same at Verona. , The mother of the subject of this sketch was known in her maidenhood as Frances Cannon, a daughter of G. N. and Elizabeth Cannon. She was a woman of many praiseworthy characteristics. Her death occurred October 2, 1909, at Siloam Springs, Arkansas. To these parents seven children were born, only two of whom are living at this writing, namely: Cecil A., of this sketch; and Floyd E., who lives at Pittsburg, Kansas, is a brakeman on the Kansas City Southern Railroad, and is unmarried. Our subject's paternal grandparents were Augustus and Ruth (West) Briggs, natives of New York and Kentucky, respectively. Cecil A. Briggs was educated in the common schools, graduated from the Verona high school, took a course in a St. Louis business college, and he began his business career in 1907, in the lumber firm of his father at Verona, where he remained until 1910, as office manager for the firm of Briggs & Wilks. He then came to Springfield as bookkeeper for the D. J. Landis Lumber Company, with which he remained until 1912, then went to Lamar, Oklahoma, as assistant cashier of the Bank of Lamar, remaining there until March 4, 1914, when he returned to Springfield and assumed his present connection with the George-Briggs Lumber Company, his previous experience having made him familiar with every phase of the lumber business and rendering him entirely capable of assuming the responsible position he now occupies. The George-Briggs Lumber Company is located at 425 West Commercial street. It was incorporated under the laws of Missouri, February 4, 1914, with a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars, and the business was started on that date, with J. H. George, president; B., H. George, treasurer; and Cecil A. Briggs, manager and secretary. Their yard is three hundred by one hundred and seventy-five feet and they have a neat office. A full stock of well-selected lumber of all kinds, such as is to be found in any up-to-date lumber yard in this part of the country, is carried, and the business has been a success from the start. Their business is confined mostly to Greene county. Four assistants are required in the yards. Besides lumber they handle sashes, doors, cement, plaster, sand, brick, etc. Politically Mr. Briggs is a Republican. He is a member of the Christian church, and was formerly a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Briggs was married, first, in 1909, to Elsie Browning, a daughter of George W. and Jane Browning. Her death occurred August 28, 1913, leaving two children, Genevieve and Jane. Our subject was married again in 1914 to Flossie May Warden, a daughter of James L. and Dora (Blackman) Warden. BRIGHT AND SALTS. Bright and Salts are today among the enterprising and well known business men of Bois D'Are, where they are engaged in the livery business, their barn being one of the best patronized in the west part of Greene county. They have a modernly equipped barn, which they keep in as neat a manner as possible and their horses are always well groomed and give good service. Their vehicles are also well kept and the firm tries to give prompt and honest service at all times, consequently it is popular with the traveling public John C. Bright was born in Benton county, Arkansas, February 10, 1881. He is a son of Alfred W. and Kate (Maberry) Bright, both long since deceased. John C. Bright grew to manhood in his native state and worked on a farm when a boy, and he received his education in the common schools. He continued farming in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, until 1913, having removed to the last named state in 1905. He is at this writing successfully engaged in the livery business at Bois D'Arc with Robert A. Salts. Mr. Bright was married February 22, 1908, to Maud Salts, who was born in Center township, Greene county, Missouri, in December, 1885, and here she grew to womanhood and received her education in the public schools. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bright, namely: Harley A., born June 19, 1909; James A., born July 28, 1912. Robert Allen Salts was born in Center township, Greene county, Missouri, February 19, 1893. He is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Walker) Salts, for years popular and well known farmers of Center township. Robert A. Salts grew to manhood on the home farm, where he worked when a boy, and he received his education in the district schools of his community. He engaged in general farming until 1914, when he went in business with his brother-in-law, John C. Bright, at Bois D'Arc, a member of the livery firm of Bright & Salts. Mr. Salts married on January 13, 1912, Zula Shumate, who was born, September 3, 1895. Politically Mr. Salts is a Progressive, and religiously he is a Baptist. He is a young man of much energy and is straight-forward in his dealings with the public. MADISON ANDREW BROWER. The man who produces double the customary crop assumes a leadership that brings responsibilities. His farm is an object of interest. When his work becomes known and his methods discussed he is called a model farmer. Others want to see and learn, and then do likewise. One of the farmers of Center township, Greene county, who not only raises big crops, but who keeps his farm in an attractive condition, everything well cared for thus presenting to the visitor a pleasing appearance, is Madison Andrew Brower. Mr. Brower was born in the above named township and county on December 2, 1869. He is a son of John Robinson Brower and Sarah Ann (Spoon) Brower. The father came from North Carolina before the Civil war and located in Center township, this county; the mother also came here from North Carolina about the same time, and here they were married and spent the rest of their lives on a farm, the father dying in 1899 and the mother passing away in 1908. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living at this writing, namely: Louise married Daniel Henley, a farmer of Oklahoma; James is farming in Center township, Greene county; Calvin H. is teaching school in Center township; Etta married L. G. Reynolds, who is employed by the International Harvester Company and stationed at Springfield; Ella married John Cook, a farmer of Oklahoma; Lizzie married Edward Miner, a farmer of Center township; and Madison A., of this sketch. Mr. Brower of this review grew to manhood on the home farm, where he worked when a boy during vacations, and he received his education in the public schools of his community. He has always followed farming. He remained with his parents until he was married when twenty-six years old. He moved to his-present excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 13, East Center township, in 1904, which he purchased at that time. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in section 23 of the same township. His farm is one of the best improved and best kept in the township and it lies on the Carthage road, five miles west of Springfield, occupying one of the highest points in this part of the Ozarks. It is well drained and very productive, having produced a number of record crops. In connection with general farming he pays considerable attention to hog raising, making a specialty of pure bred Poland-China hogs, and has been more than ordinarily successful in this line. His dwelling and other buildings are substantial and neat in appearance, and everything denotes good management about his place. Mr. Brower was married on May 10, 1895, to Mrs. Mary Ann (Johnson) Wilson, widow of J. H. Wilson and a daughter of Ellis and Rachel Johnson, early settlers of West Center township, where she grew to womanhood and received her education. Two children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Lillian, born on July 13, 1897, and Claude, born on June 19, 1900. They are both at home with their parents. Fraternally, Mr. Brower is a member of Elwood Lodge No. 278, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also the Elwood Lodge of Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a Democrat, and he has always manifested a good citizen's interest in local public affairs. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church, South. ADDISON BROWN. Addison Brown has achieved marked success as a lawyer while yet a young man, for the vocation he selected is one of the most exacting of all Professions and, too, he has had to win his way in the face of opposition n various ways and in a community long noted for the high order of its legal talent. He throws his whole soul into his work. As a citizen, he stands for the highest ideals in all the relations of life. Mr. Brown was born on January 19, 1874, in Ozark, Christian county, Missouri. He is a son of E. B. and Sarah A. (Clapp) Brown; the father was born on December 5, 1845; the mother was born on July 15, 1856. These parents received good educations, and the father attended the Keokuk Medical College, at Keokuk, Iowa, from which institution he was graduated in April, 1872. He first began the practice of his profession in Ozark, Missouri, where he remained until 1889, when he removed to Billings, this state, and there he is still actively engaged in the practice of medicine, having built up a large patronage. Politically he is a Democrat. He belongs to the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and other fraternal organizations. To E. B. Brown and wife nine children were born, all of whom are still living, named as follow: Mollie L., born on August 28, 1872, is single and she has been teaching in the public schools of Dallas, Texas, for the past seven years; Addison, of this sketch; Fred H., born on November 16, 1876 is single, and he is engaged in the practice of medicine at Billings, Missouri; Ross B., born on June 20, 1879, married Elizabeth Berry, and they live in Branson, Missouri, where he is engaged in the real estate business; Frank H., born on July 15, 1883, married Lucy Garroutte, and they are living in Billings, where he is engaged in the mercantile business; Minnie V., born in 1886, is single, and is teaching in the public schools of Dallas, Texas; Ned R., born on November 3, 1888, married in 1909; he is a traveling salesman and resides in Colorado Springs; Joseph D., born on January 11, 1893, is a pharmacist and lives in Billings, Missouri; Alta L., born on December 8, 1896, lives in Billings; she is a student in the State Normal school at Springfield, Missouri. John D. Brown, the paternal grandfather of our subject, married Jean Bray, and to them five sons and three daughters were born, all of the boys being made physicians. Joseph Addison Brown was the father of Dr. William McFarland Brown, a physician and surgeon of Springfield, Missouri, a complete sketch of whom appears on another page of this work, in which will be found a complete genealogy of the Brown family. Dr. G. P. S. Brown, of Nixa, Missouri, is also a physician; he is an uncle of the subject of this sketch. Addison Brown received a common school education, being graduated from the high school at Billings, Missouri, in 1893. He became a registered pharmacist in Texas on July 15, 1893, and for a number of years engaged in the drug business in the city of Dallas with much success. He was manager of a number of drug stores there. Finally he decided to enter the legal profession and began studying law during spare moments. Progressing rapidly, he entered the law department of Washington University, at St. Louis, Missouri, from which institution he was graduated on June 20, 1901, having made an excellent record. From 1901 to 1905 he was engaged as manager of drug stores in Dallas, Texas. On September 1, 1905, Mr. Brown located in Springfield for the practice of his profession. He has been very successful from the first and his clientage has constantly increased since coming to this city. During the past seven years he has been attorney for a number of wholesale merchants here. He has long ranked among the leaders of the Greene county bar. Mr. Brown was married on December 22, 1910, to Lydian D. Berry, of Nevada, Missouri. She is a daughter of J. H. Berry. She received a good education. Politically, Mr. Brown is a Democrat. He belongs to the Masonic order, the Young Men's Business Club, and the Christian church. FRANK E. BROWN. Successful farming calls for the best of judgment. It means good crops, good live stock well fed and handled, and a thoroughly balanced business in every way. No business needs better management all around than farming. So many chances for failure are present that it is the exceptional farm that is strong in every particular. Most farms succeed in spite of certain weaknesses. Some of these weaknesses can be corrected; others are due to conditions that cannot be improved, such as naturally poor soil, short growing seasons, steep hills and various things. No better example of a good general farmer, stock man and horticulturist than Frank E. Brown, of Campbell township, near the Springfield city limits, could be found in Greene county. He has applied business principles to his farming and has used his mind as well as his brawn. He hails from the far-away rugged state of Maine, but before casting his lot with the people of the Ozarks, engaged in mercantile pursuits in Minnesota a number of years. Mr. Brown was born August 6, 1860, at Sangerville, Maine. He is a son of Francis and Tamar (Brown) Brown, and a grandson of Oliver Brown, who was a native of Maine his parents being among the, pioneers of that state. He grew up and married in his native locality and later removed to Sangerville, having been among the first settlers at that place, and there he spent the rest of his life engaged in farming and died there, and there occurred the birth of his son Francis Brown, our subject's father. The latter grew up on the homestead on which he worked when a boy and in spare times learned the carpenter's trade. After the Civil war he removed to Minnesota, and engaged in contracting at Minneapolis, later moving to the southern part of that state and farmed a few years in the vicinity of Leroy. His death occurred in Minneapolis in August 1896, at the age of seventy-three years. His family consisted of eleven children, four of whom are living at this writing, namely: Anna, who lives in Everett, Washington, is the wife of Clinton Stephans, a relative of the noted civil engineer, Frank Stephans; Mrs. Ada Jones, whose husband is deceased, lives in Minneapolis; Mrs. Fannie Hartley lives in Minneapolis; Minnie Stephens lives at Red Wing, Minnesota, and Frank E. of this sketch. The subject of this review was educated in the common schools of Minnesota, where he removed with his parents when a child; however, he left school when thirteen years of age and began learning the carpenter's trade, later managed his father's farm, and during his father's last illness he was appointed by the governor of the Gopher state as a delegate to the Farmers' Congress which met in St. Paul. He continued general farming there, also maintained a store for some time. Mr. Brown was married at Leroy, Minnesota, March 7, 1888, to Anna Palmer, a daughter of Cady and Sarah (Palmer) Palmer. Her father was a farmer and one of the first settlers in the vicinity of the town of Leroy. There Mrs. Brown grew to womanhood and attended the public schools. The union of our subject and wife resulted in the birth of four children, named as follows: Mrs. Grace May Holder is the wife of a civil engineer, and she lives with her father; Charlie L., a graduate of the Agricultural department of the University of Missouri at Columbia, also lives at home; Ida and Ruth are both at home and are students in the Springfield high school. The eldest daughter of our subject is a talented musician; she has the distinction of being the first and only pupil to graduate in all branches also in vocal music at Drury College. Mrs. Brown died in the fall of 1914. Mr. Brown remained in Minnesota until in the spring of 1903, when he removed to Greene county, Missouri, arriving here on March 5th. He had purchased four hundred acres in Campbell township the year previous. He began improving this valuable tract and soon had it under modern improvements and also built an attractive two-story eleven-roomed house with all modern conveniences, finished in original genuine black cherry, seventeen hundred feet of which fine lumber he cut from his own land, doing the work himself, as he is a skilled carpenter and experienced builder. He has carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale, making a specialty of a good grade of cattle, among his herd being a splendid Holstein bull for which he paid four hundred dollars when a calf. Mr. Brown leased his farm some time ago and merely oversees it in a general way, having retired from active farming, a lease of ten years being made to his son and Mr. Holder, his son-in-law, who has given up his work as civil engineer, in which he is quite accomplished, in order to devote his entire attention to the farm. An indication that this is not only a rich farm but is well operated is seen from the fact that a field of one hundred acres of wheat in 1914, averaged over nineteen bushels per acre. Politically, Mr. Brown is a Democrat, but while a careful voter and loyal to his party he has never sought political leadership, although he has held numerous minor offices, such as road commissioner and was a member of the school board in Minnesota for a period of twenty-five years during which he did much for the general improvement of the schools in his district. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a past grand knight in Minnesota. He is a man whom it is a pleasure to meet, being well informed, hospitable and companionable. HARRY F. BROWN. We are so accustomed to think of man as a material composition complete in the food that matches his hunger, in the water that stakes his thirst, in the air that trades with his lungs, in the raiment and roof that protects him from the cold, in the money that relates him to the world's commerce, that we fail to recognize that the person who has no mental abode in which to shelter his higher self, and the moral, spiritual and intellectual furnishments necessary for its equipment, health and inspiration lives on a level not much above that of the animal. Harry F. Brown, who has charge of the store-room of the reclamation department in the South Side Frisco shops, Springfield, is not of the class referred to, but while laboring for the material comforts of life, as if natural and right, he has not neglected to provide what might be called an intellectual abode, being a thinking man of good ideals and practices. Mr. Brown was born in that great country which all Americans admire—England, he having first seen the light of day at Earlingdean on July 24, 1876. He is a son of Walter E. Brown, also a native of England, in which country he grew up, attended school and was married, residing there until the year 1881, when he immigrated with his family to the United States, landing in New York. Coming on west he selected Springfield, Missouri, as the best place in which to locate, and although he had followed gardening in his home country, he here sought and found employment with the Frisco railroad, in the North Side shops, where he became foreman of a labor gang. He is now employed in the Florence Bottling Works in this city, being owner of same. He remained with the Frisco ten years, from 1882 to 1892, then spent ten years in the grocery business, in which he was very successful, giving that line of endeavor up in 1902 to engage in the bottling business at the corner of Lyon and Division streets, where he has a modernly equipped and excellent plant, employing a number of hands and from which he sends out large consignments of his products all over this section of the state. He has been very successful as a business man, being now a man of considerable means, although he landed in this city with very little capital. Politically, he is a Republican. He was a member of the city council for eighteen months. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Masonic lodge. The mother of our subject was known in her maidenhood as Fannie Madden, who was born in England, where she grew to womanhood and attended school. She became the mother of five children, namely: William, who lives at Lebanon, Missouri, is a machinist and electrician, and has charge of the city’s lighting plant there; Harry F., of this sketch; Bert is engaged in the bottling business with his father; Florence marred Thomas Hixon, who was formerly engaged in the meat business in Springfield; Fannie married John W. Crow, who lives at Strafford, this county, and is in the employ of the Frisco. Harrv F. Brown was five years old when his parents brought him from England to America, and he grew to manhood in Springfield, and here attended the public schools and a business college. When twenty years of age he went to work, in 1896, for the Frisco system as baggage man at the Springfield station, working there three years, then in 1899, was transferred to the store department at the North Side shops. In 1902 he went to work for the Kansas City Southern railroad, with which he remained six months, then worked six months with the New Phoenix Foundry and Machinery Company, after which he engaged in the grocery business for himself until 1906 then went to work again for the Frisco in the store department at the North Side shops, and was assistant there until 1909, in which year he was sent to the new shops as foreman of the store department, which position he held year, then was sent back to the old North Side shops as general stock clerk, remaining there a year, then was shipping and receiving foreman in the storeroom there for a year, after which he was transferred to the reclamation plant in the South Side shops, November 1, 1914, and is now foreman of the storeroom, and is giving his usual high-grade service. Mr. Brown was married, in 1898, to Ollie Oliver, a daughter of Benton Oliver, of Springfield, a well-known dry goods merchant here, on Commercial street. Mrs. Brown was reared and educated in this city. The union of our subject and wife has been without issue. Politically, Mr. Brown is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. JAMES M. BROWN. The name James M. Brown does not sound very Irish-like, neither does the bearer of this plain old cognomen possess many of the outward characteristics of the Celtic people, but it is evident that he has inherited many of the praiseworthy traits of his ancestors, which have resulted in his success in his chosen field of endeavor and in his popularity among his associates. For we all know that there is no better blood in this country than Irish blood. Our subject is filling the responsible position of master mechanic at the Springfield Gas and Power Company. Such positions are not attained without careful preparation. Mr. Brown was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, May 28, 1864. He is a son of John and Mary (Perry) Brown, the latter dying in 1910 at the age of seventy years. The father was born in County Cork, Ireland, where he spent his boyhood, immigrating to the United States when he was about nineteen years of age, and located in Tennessee, where he became a railroad contractor, making his home at Greenville, Greene county, that state, where his death occurred at the early age of forty-eight years, in 1894, and he was buried at Quaker Knob, Greene county. As a contractor he built railroads in eastern Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. His family consisted of six children, namely: William M. is an engineer for a railroad company, operating coal mines in North Carolina; Thomas, formerly a stationary engineer, lives at Little Rock, Arkansas; Daniel is engaged in farming in Texas, James M., subject of this sketch; Mary, a trained nurse, resides at Morristown, Tennessee; Sallie is married and also resides at Morristown, Tennessee. James M. Brown received his education in the public schools, but left his text-books when only twelve years of age to go to work in a saw mill at Bull's Gap, Tennessee, where his duties were to keep the sawdust thrown back out of the way and to pull the whistle three times a day, considering the latter privilege an honor. He was later fireman at the mill, receiving a dollar and fifty cents per day, after he had been working only six months at the plant. He held this position for two years, and being a close observer and a willing worker, became a full-fledged engineer before he was he worked on a farm two years; then worked in a water mill on Clear fifteen years of age. He then went to McDonald county, Missouri, where creek, hauling flour from the mill for one year, then came to Ash Grove, Greene county, about 1880, securing a position with the Likins Milling Company, and helped erect a plant there, of which, when it was finished, he was engaged as engineer, which position he filled until 1895, then came to Springfield and was employed by the Springfield Electric Light Company, later the Springfield Traction Company, as engineer, and three months later was appointed chief engineer, continuing in this position until 1913. The work became too heavy and he then took a position as repair man, and is now master mechanic at the Springfield Gas and Power Company, in whose service he has been employed for a period of twenty years. He has given eminent satisfaction in every respect, being not only an expert engineer and mechanic, but is faithful, reliable and trustworthy. Mr. Brown was married on October 28, 1890, to Annie E. Sanford, of Walnut Grove, Missouri. She is a daughter of Robert C. and Mary (Holder) Sanford, To this union two children have been born, namely: Millard F., who was educated in the Springfield ward and high schools, is single, and he has been employed in the main office of the Frisco railroad for five years; Sanford, who was educated in the high school, Drury College and a local business college, is connected with the Heer Dry Goods Company, of Springfield. Mr. Brown owns a pleasant home on North Main street. Politically, he is a Republican, and, religiously, a Presbyterian. He is a member of the National Association of Steam Engineers, of which he was formerly secretary. Fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. THOMAS TOLIVER BROWN. When Thomas T. Brown, one of Greene county's honored citizens of a past generation, passed away, there was added to the list of lamented dead whose earthly records closed like the "good and faithful servant" spoken of in Holy Writ, and as long as memory remains to those who knew him the influence of his noble life will remain as a source of encouragement and inspiration. "Our echoes roll from soul to soul and grow forever and forever," according to the poet Tennyson, and the good we do lives after us through all the ages, handed down from generation to generation. Who, then, can measure the results of a life work? Not to condemn, but to aid, Mr. Brown made the practice of his life, and many of his friends and acquaintances are better and happier for his having lived, for though the voice is stilled in death, the spirit of his work remains as the deep under-current of a mighty stream, noiseless but irresistible. His influence was as the delicate fragrance of a flower to those who had the pleasure of his friendship. His sympathies were broad and ennobling, and his life was beautiful in its purity and virtues. Mr. Brown was born May 20, 1856, in Newton county, Missouri. He was a son of Smith W. and Mary (Goodman) Brown. The mother had been previously married to a. Mr. Brock. The father came from Tennessee to Missouri in 1856, and the mother of our subject also came from that state. Smith W. Brown.was a man of fairly good education. He studied law in his youth, was admitted to the bar, and practiced his profession in Greene county for several years. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company F, Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry and served three years in the Union army, taking part in several battles and a number of skirmishes. He was also recruiting officer for a time. After the war he returned to Greene county and took up masonry, also continued practicing law. He drew a pension from the government in later years, having been wounded in one of the battles of the war. He continued the practice of his profession until his death in 1910, but spent many years on the farm, and he was active in the affairs of the Masonic Order. Thomas T. Brown was one of two children by his father's first marriage, he having been the eldest. The other child, a girl, died in infancy, the mother dying about the same time. His father married a second time but did not live long with this wife separating when the subject of this sketch was two and one-half years of age. The elder Brown hired a family named Bailles in Bois D'Arc, this county, to take care of Thomas T., and the latter remained in that home three years then went to live with his grandfather, with whom he remained until he was about seven years of age, when Smith W. Brown married a third time, moved to Greene county after the war and here spent the rest of his life. Upon his last marriage he took our subject into his home and there he remained until he was fourteen years of age when he left home. In the meantime he had been attending school and obtained a meager education. When he was nineteen years of age he was married to Nancy Owens, September 16, 1875. She is a daughter of Richard and Nancy (Garoutte) Owens, natives of Tennessee and Indiana, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Owens eleven children were born, namely: James was a soldier in the Civil war and was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas; Isabelle married Andy Chaisteen, of Greene county, is deceased; Andrew J. lives in Oklahoma; Charlotte married Martin Marias and is now deceased; Richard W., deceased; Bernice is the wife of William Brakebill and they live in Greene ,county, Missouri; Mary married George Likens and they live in Greene county; Napoleon B. lives in Douglas county, Missouri; Nancy Elizabeth is the widow of the subject of this sketch; Sampson B., and Jeremiah both .live in Lawrence county, this state. All the above named children lived to be grown, and the youngest one living was fifty years old in April, 1914. To the union of Thomas T. Brown and wife the following children were born: Effie is the wife of Robert Nelson and they live in Barry county, Missouri, and have ten children; May, deceased, was the wife of Ferd Jackson, and left five children; Dollie F. is deceased; Lulu, deceased; Sam R. lives in Pond Creek township, this county, and has four children; Katherine is the wife of Roy Browning and they live in Greene county and have five children; Richard, and Smith, both live in this county also; Martha W. is the wife of Chris Bielier and they live in Greene county, and have one child; Mary V. is the wife of Dal Davis of this county and have one child; the two youngest children were twins and died in infancy. Mrs. Nancy E. Brown has twenty-nine living grandchildren and one great grandchild, all of this generation, and all but one live in Greene county. Mrs. Brown owns an eighty-acre farm of rich bottom land, one of the desirable small farms of this part of the county. It is operated by her youngest son who has remained at home. He is married and has one child. Thomas T. Brown devoted his active life principally to agricultural pursuits; however, he was for many years engaged in other occupations. Soon after his marriage he went into the drug business which he followed about two years, then sold out and started a nursery business on his farm, which he managed in connection with farming for six years. Later he took stock in the corporation known as Owen & Cahill, which manufactured fence building machines, and was connected with this concern for four years, then secured. employment with the L. E. Lines music house of Springfield, with which he remained for a period of seven years, or until his health failed, causing him to give up active business and retiring to his farm in Ponk Creek township, where he remained until his death about six years later, on September 4, 1909. He was very successful as a business -man and gave entire satisfaction to his employers. He was broad-minded, far-sighted and was a good mixer, and, dealing honestly with the business, world, always had the confidence of those with whom he came in contact. Fraternally he was a member of the Modern Woodmen. Politically he was not a party man, voting for the man rather than the party. He was a man of upright character and loyal in his friendships, and his death was a loss to the community. DR. WILLIAM McFARLAND BROWN. The strength of a man is in a way measured by the amount of persecution he can stand, his weakness is never thus tested. Dr. Wm. McF. Brown is a broad minded symmetrically developed man, whose interest in the public welfare is potent and salutary. He has so thoroughly demonstrated the sincerity of his attitude as a physician and citizen that he now stands secure in the confidence and esteem of a very wide circle of friends and patrons. An insight into the true character of Dr. Brown, may be obtained by noting his application of the following words. The importance of human relation can be no more admirably exemplified than in the instance wherein one man can be of just benefit to another man. A good character is the greatest worldly asset of mankind and that whoever seeks to destroy it is worse than he who would steal away your property in the darkness of night. Man's morality is evidenced by a reasonable degree of self-sacrifice and unassuming display of sympathy and charity commensurate with his ability to act. His bravery by his straightforward way of doing things subservient to a will that meets a moral obligation and a true measure of his success by what he has accomplished. In contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, particular interest is attached to the career of Dr. Wm. McFarland Brown, he having been born, reared and has lived his entire life within the confines of the county of which this historical compendium treats and that he has so directed his ability and effort as to have gained recognition as one of our representative citizens and worthy scion of two of our sterling pioneer families. Dr. Brown has not only kept in close touch with the trend of current medical thought and research, but is an appreciative student of all social public and scientific subjects being thus one of the leading physicians in a locality noted for its medical talent. He is a plain unassuming gentleman who has a greater desire to be useful than to gain the admiring plaudits of his fellow men. He so much enjoys the discovery of good in other people that he has become a close observer of human character and disposition and depends much more upon what he observes that what he hears, especially self praise or soliloquy, the former being considered by him as inexcusably foolish and funny as the latter except, perhaps, on occasion when the soliloquist wants to hear a smart fellow talk awhile. He was born in Greene county on what is known now as the Duff farm, about ten miles southeast of Springfield, on the 24th day of August, 1861. From childhood he was remarkably vivacious and active, taking a great amount of physical culture which, together with his active farm work during early manhood resulted in the upbuilding of a vigorous constitution which has doubtless served him well during his strenuous professional life, and which in part solves the mystery of his wonderful endurance. He is regular in everything except eating and sleeping, yet he eats and sleeps to live and not to be considered otherwise in a single instance. He is ever content to depend upon his natural reactionary powers for relief from those tired feelings to the exclusion of all other agents. He obtained his literary education in the schools here and vicinity and at Morrisville College, after which, upon urgent request by Dr. Robberson, Dr. Tefft, Dr. Rose and his father, he early decided to follow in the footsteps of his father in a professional way and having had a decided natural predilection in this worthy field of endeavor, he studied medicine under his father until 1882, when he entered the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis, where he made an excellent record and from which institution he graduated with honor in the class of 1885. Immediately after graduation he located in Springfield, this county, where he practiced for about a year then moved a short distance east among the people who had known him from childhood. Here he met with great encouragement and gained universal confidence which still endures. In the year 1890 he moved on a few miles east to the town of Strafford, this county, where by meritorious professional work and conduct he built up a very extensive practice and where he remained until the year 1909, when seeking a broader field for the exercise of his talents he located in Springfield, where he has since resided, at once taking his place in the front ranks of the leading practitioners; he has thus stood secure in the confidence and esteem of the people of this city and community, both as to his professional ability and his personal worth, and is deserving, in every way of the large success he has achieved. He has remained a diligent student of all that pertains to his profession and has kept fully abreast of the times in every phase of the same. He has acquired a large amount of real estate, including several farms, a commodious residence on Benton avenue, Springfield, and other city property. The domestic life of Dr. Brown began on December 18, 1890, when he was united in marriage with Alta Catherine Love, the daughter of Robert and Margaret (Piper) Love, a prominent family of Strafford. The father was born in Pike county, Missouri, and the mother was a native of Greene county, Missouri; they became the parents of ten children. (See sketch and portrait on another page of this work.) Mrs. Brown was born in 1866, at Strafford, where she grew to womanhood and received her education. She is a lady of many praiseworthy attributes of head and heart. The union of Dr. Brown and wife has been blessed with four children, namely: Mary, who was educated in the public school of Strafford, and at Drury College, married on November 16, 1912 to Junius W. Houston, son of Edward and Florence (Wilson) Houston, a well-known family of Springfield. Mr. Houston is a talented electrician and a promising young business man, having charge of the electrical supplies of the Frisco railroad at the present time. He resides in Springfield and has one child, a daughter, Meredith Brown Houston, who was born on Jannary 6, 1914. The other children of Doctor and Mrs. Brown are Robert Addison Brown, who was educated in the public school at Strafford and Drury College, and is now living at home; Hermosa Rose Brown, who is in Ward Belmont College, Nashville, Tenn., and Maxie Eleanor, who is at home. Politically, Mr. Brown is a Democrat, but is duly considerate and appreciative of friendship, efficiency and true manhood wherever found. He is a church member, member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias. Eagles, Court of Honor, Woodmen of the World, Woodmen Circle, Rebekahs, Modern Woodmen of America, Royal Neighbors, Knights and Ladies of Security, Ben-Hur and Society of Colonial Wars. He is a man of warm sympathetic impulses, obliging, companionable, and uniformly courteous, with high conceptions of good citizenship and right living. When young in years the father of our subject came with his parents on the long and wearisome overland journey from his native state to Greene county, Missouri, when the locality was but little developed and settlers were very few. He first attended school at Green Mountain, North Carolina, and later at Ebenezer Academy, this county, after which he taught school for a few years, then studied law for two years; then took up the study of medicine under Dr. G. P. Shackelford and completed his medical education at the McDowell Medical College of St. Louis, Missouri. He entered upon the practice of his profession near and at Springfield, Missouri, before the Civil war, where he continued during and for some time after hostilities had ceased, thereafter maintaining his home on a fine farm near the National Cemetery, where he continued practicing until near the end of the century. He was one of the oldest and best and most widely known physicians in this county and a man whom to know was to respect and honor, not only for his ability as a physician, but for his unswerving integrity. Although of southern birth and breeding, he remained neutral during the war between the states, prescribing and caring alike for Federals and Confederates, which attitude resulted in making him many enemies who did all in their power to annoy him and obstruct his freedom and progress, even their persecutions continuing for years after the war had ended. And these enemies had to cope with the insurmountable effort, and influence of his many true friends, exemplified in one instance when John Fickle, a Union man, yet his friend and brother Mason, walked in a roundabout way five miles barefooted in the dead hours of night to his home, to apprise him of the plot of a gang of bushwhackers and their appointed hour to take his life, thus enabling him to escape unharmed. And in another when Dr. E. T. Robberson, who was the physician in charge of the Federal hospital, which occupied the old building which still stands at the George M, Jones place between Sherman street and Springfield avenue, extended to him a hand in friendship and professional fellowship, thus lending him material aid in his efforts to obtain a living, and at whose hands the climax of assistance came when he sent Doctor Brown, accompanied by wife and a guard, to treat Col. John A. Lee, who was sick at Galena, Missouri, with pneumonia, where he remained at the bedside of the colonel until convalescent, leaving his two children, Alice and William McFarland, at home in the care of William Porter's family, whereupon Col. John A. Lee enjoyed the discovery of the sterling qualities and medical ability of Doctor Brown, and in prompt accord therewith sent orders to headquarters at Springfield to immediately and continuously remove all obstacles to his necessities, liberties and pleasures to the peril of all violators. But he was of an amiable and peaceful disposition, which doubtless prevented him from receiving harsher treatment at the hands of his enemies. He was a member of the Masonic order and occupied a high position in all circles in which he moved. He lived to reach an advanced age, death resulting from pneumonia at his home on the 17th day of February, 1894, after a useful and commendable life, and his name will be perpetuated in local history as being one of Greene county's ablest and most popular pioneer physicians. He was of English descent by both parents, having descended through his mother from Rev. Stephen Batcheler, of England, an Oxford graduate who founded the city of Hampton, New Hampshire, and who was presented to the living of Wherwell County Haunts by Sir Thomas West, the second Baronet De LaWare, father of Lord Delaware, who gave his name to the Delaware river, for sixteen years he was vicar of Wherwell. Dr. Joseph Addison Brown, the father of our subject, was a blood relative to John G. Whittier, the poet; Daniel Webster, the statesman; Hon. Justin S. Morrill, United States senator from Vermont; Hon. M. B. Allison, United States senator from Iowa; Gov. Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts; John Bachelder, the inventor of indispensable parts of the sewing machine, and many other noted people. John D. Brown, LL. D., the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Randolph county, North Carolina, and a son of Henry Brown, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, as shown by Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. XVI, page 1022. From the old Tar state he removed to Arkansas in a very early day, and soon thereafter came on to Greene county, Missouri, locating on a large tract of wild prairie land a few miles southwest of the hamlet of Henderson, which land he converted into an excellent farm by persistent and careful management, and there spent the remainder of his life, dying of smallpox in the year 1863. He was a dignified and courageous gentleman, possessed of a great amount of natural intelligence and tact and, by profession, a lawyer. Politically, he was a Democrat and a local leader in his party, but was a man who always considered the public good first. He took an active interest in public life both in North Carolina and Missouri. While in North Carolina he filled the following offices and positions, namely: justice of the peace, being appointed by the governor of the state; probate judge of Randolph county; president of Springfield Female College, and later judge of the court of chancery until he left the state. While in Greene county, Missouri, he was justice of the peace, county school commissioner for several years, and twice his party's candidate for representative. He was very successful in a business way, and at the breaking out of the war of the rebellion was one of the wealthy men of the county, but he, like nearly all of those who lived in this locality during those troublous days, lost heavily. His widow, whose maiden name was Jean Bray, survived him three decades, being well past her ninetieth birthday when she was summoned to the Silent Land as a result of pneumonia. To John D. and Jean (Bray) Brown, the following children were born: Emeline married William Jessup, who established their home at Jamestown, Arkansas; Lydia, who has long been deceased, was the wife of Anderson Pendleton, of Christian county, Missouri, and at her death left one child; Jane married Eli Jessup, also of Christian county; John D., Jr., who located at Lead Hill, Arkansas, served through the Civil war in the Confederate army under Gen. Sterling Price, and was once wounded; Dr. Eli B., who became a physician at Billings, Missouri, also served in the Confederate army and was shot through the shoulder in one of the numerous engagements in which he participated; William T. was a soldier in the Union army about a year, and was honorably discharged on account of having suffered a sun-stroke, which thus disabled him from further service; Dr. G. P. S., who was graduated from the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, established himself in the practice of his profession at Nixa, Christian county, and Dr. Joseph A., father of the immediate subject of this sketch. The wife of John D., Brown is credited with the honor of naming Christian county. John D. Brown, together with Gov. John S. Phelps, was sent at one time as special delegate to interview President Jackson in the interest of this part of the country, being accompanied by his son, the father of our subject. To Dr. Joseph A. and Martha A. (McFarland) Brown, parents of our subject, the following children were born: Alice, who married Joseph Danforth, of Greene county, and who died April 2, 1914, of tetanus, the germ having been received into a small finger wound while preparing garden; Dr. William McFarland, who is next to the eldest; Henry and James both dying in infancy, James having died at the age of one year as a result of swallowing glass; Jamie married C. J. Edmondson, of Greene county; Joseph Edwin, who resides in Springfield; Martha, who is deceased; and Daniel Keating, who is in California. Hon. William McFarland, the maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, removed from Cooper county, Missouri, in a very early day, settling at the big Jones spring, where he built and operated one of the first grist mills in this country and where the old mill race foundation still stands, as a landmark of his ingenuity and industry. Here he received and gratified patrons from the country far and near. He was successful in this business. Later he became an extensive farmer and stockman and became quite wealthy, owning about a thousand acres of fertile land, a great many slaves, and an abundance of other personal property. His home was situated four miles southeast of Springfield, being, the same as was later owned and occupied by Dr. Joseph Addison Brown, the father of our subject. A part of his land joined up with that of Gov. John S. Phelps, just outside of the city limits. He was a fine example of self-made man, a natural born leader, who was possessed of rare ability and general information, and was an eloquent and forceful public speaker, whose personality, knowledge and evident interest in the public welfare placed him in demand on many occasions, especially during political campaigns. Politically, he was originally a Whig, but became a Republican at the birth of that party, which held him in abiding faith the remainder of his life, death resulting from poisoned water, which set cooling out on a shelf, thus rendered, it was believed, by the fiendish impulse of an intractable slave whom he had sold on account of gross disobedience. Although a slave owner, he was merely such by custom and apparent necessity and not by principle, for he was a man imbued with the spirit of sympathy and humanity, never having struck a slave but one time in his life, and that was Stephen, the neighborhood fiddler, upon the violation of his orders by proceeding to play for a dance at a house of questionable repute. This occasion brought tears to the old master's eyes while pleading with Stephen to be honorable and thus avoid the obligation of treating a man as some men treat an animal. He took an active part in the political affairs of this county, being twice elected to the state Legislature, defeating the paternal grandfather of our subject in both campaigns. He was also at one time sheriff of this county. His wife was Patsy Roberts, one of the two children of John and Rebecca (Langley) Roberts, who removed from Kentucky to Greene county, Missouri about the year 1830. John Roberts was a typical pioneer, very strong, and a man whose courage was never doubted. He delighted in the crucial tests of physical manhood, and gloried in his ability to surmount the obstacles allotted to his pathway. He was a great hunter, in the pursuit of which he felt no terror at the sight of a redskin crouched behind a rock or the vicious inhabitants of the woods nearby, having at one time near a sink hole in the east field of what is now known as the Joe McCraw farm down by old Mt. Pisgah church, attacked and killed a large bear with no other weapon than his dirk knife. He lived and conducted a mill and distillery at the big Jones spring, where he prospered for a number of years, and later was coroner of Greene county. He was shot and killed by an enemy on the public square of Springfield whom he had previously frightened by a fun-making snap of his spectacle case. His enemy had threatened him, which only served to stimulate his mischievous attitude and he was unarmed when the fatal moment came. His bodily remains still rest on the hilltop by that noted spring marked by a tomb hewn from the native rock by the hands of a fellow pioneer. The wife of John Roberts was a good, industrious woman, bearing, it is said, a strong resemblance to Gen. Winfield Scott, and who lived to the advanced age of about ninety years, and died suddenly while sitting in a chair. She left a great many nice things of her own handiwork, which are still in existence, scattered among her posterity, and the occasional display of which serves to remind us of her great worth and importance in a generation long gone by. Patsy McFarland evidently inherited her father's nerve, as shown on an occasion of her return from the Holland bank to her home late one evening, when she was attacked by a highway robber, whom she beat into a state of insensibility with her walking cane, when old and very decrepit. The children of Hon. William and Patsy (Roberts) McFarland were: Rebecca, the wife of John Pursley, who is deceased; Harriet Greenlee, who was honored with the title of "Mother of Springfield" before her death; George, who is still living in Greene county; John T.; William; Nancy, wife of Abner Galbraith; Lucinda, wife of Robert A. Mack; all being deceased, and James, a prosperous resident of Tulare, California. Dr. William McFarland Brown is a direct descendant of Christopher Hussey, who married a daughter of Stephen Bachiler, who would only give his consent to the marriage on condition that they would sail with him for America. This agreement was complied with and, about 1631, they embarked for America. About the year 1639, Christopher Hussey was appointed a justice of the peace in Newbury, Massachusetts, a position of dignity and importance in early days. He was also one of the purchasers of Nantucket, Massachusetts, but did not remove there. He and his father-in-law were proprietors of Hampton, New Hampshire, where they finally settled, and from 1658 to 1672 was deputy or representative to the general court, having been elected to this position. ARTHUR W. BRYANT. In reading over the record of the lives of many of the leading citizens one becomes impressed with the fact that certain families show at the outset a strong inclination toward books and learning generally, or in at least keeping up with the times on current topics, especially dealing with national affairs. The Bryant family, which has long been well established in Greene county, is one of this type, and we find that Arthur W. Bryant, at present a progressive merchant of Strafford, was formerly a successful educator and is a well informed man on current topics. Mr. Bryant was born near Fair Grove, Missouri, August 10, 1870. He is a son of Junius A. and Sarah J. (Harkness) Bryant. The father was born in North Carolina, June 9, 1834, and when a child his parents removed to Maury county, Tennessee, where he grew to manhood and attended school, receiving an excellent education for those times. He spent his early life on the home farm. When twenty-two years of age he emigrated to Missouri and located in Greene county, near Fair Grove, where he purchased a farm and engaged successfully in general farming an stock raising. He taught school a number of years with much success. Being successful, the last few years of his life were spent in retirement from active work. His death occurred January 6, 1910. During the Civil war he was a soldier in the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, Union army, serving two years in Company C, proving to be a gallant soldier in every respect. He was honorably discharged in St. Louis on account of disability. He took part in a number of minor engagements. He was a member of the Baptist church. The mother of our subject was born in Tennessee, February 13, 1841, and when an infant her parents brought her to Missouri, where she grew to womanhood on the home farm near Fair Grove and was educated. She and Mr. Bryant were married April 6, 1858. She was a member of the Baptist church. Her death occurred December 10, 1911. Seven children were born to Junius A. Bryant and wife, namely: Columbus N.; Mrs. Nannie Dyer, deceased; John F.; Walter W.; Arthur W., of this sketch; William S.; Viola, deceased. Arthur W. Bryant grew to manhood on the home farm and worked there during his boyhood, receiving a good common school education. He began life for himself by teaching school four years, after which he began his career as merchant in Strafford in 1896, and has continued in the same line with ever increasing success to the present time, enjoying a large and lucrative business with the town and surrounding country, and always carrying a well selected stock of general merchandise at all seasons. His aim is to deal courteously and fairly with all. Mr. Bryant was married March 22, 1897, to Lola M. Bass, who was born near Bassville, Greene county, December 22, 1877, and there she was reared on a farm. She is a daughter of Martin V. and Edith (Allen) Bass, who are living still on the old home place and are well known in this part of the county. Mrs. Bryant received a good education and in her girlhood taught school several years. She is a member of the Baptist church. Five children have been born to our subject and wife namely: Junius S., born January 27, 1898; the second child died in infancy; Nola M., born April 6, 1905; the fourth child died in infancy; Marion W., born April 1, 1911. Politically, Mr. Bryant is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the Baptist church, and has always borne an excellent reputation as a man and citizen. GEORGE W. BURGE. The biographer is glad to herein set forth the salient facts in the eminently successful and honorable career of the well remembered and highly esteemed citizen of Springfield whose name appears above, the last chapter in whose life record has been closed by the hand of death, and the seal set thereon forever, but whose influence still pervades the lives of those with whom he came in contact. For many years the late George W. Burge was closely identified with the industrial development of the city of his choice and vicinity. The filial causes which shape the fortunes of individual men and the destinies of nations are often the same. They are usually remote and obscure, their influence wholly unexpected until declared by results. When they inspire men to the exercise of courage, enterprise, self-denial, and call into play the higher moral elements such causes lead to the planting of great states and great peoples. That nation is the greatest which produces the most useful men, as these must constitute the essentially greatest nation. Such a result may consciously be contemplated by the individuals instrumental in their production. Pursuing his personal good by exalted means, they worked out this as a logical conclusion, for they wrought along the lines of the greatest good. Thus it is that the safety of our republic depends not so much upon methods and measures as upon that manhood from whose deep sources all that is precious and permanent in life must at last proceed. These facts were early recognized by Mr. Burge, and the salient points marked his career, for those who knew him best could not but help noticing his many manly attributes and appreciating his efforts to inspire good citizenship and right living, in both public and private life, and because of these many commendable characteristics he won and retained the confidence and good will of all who knew him or had dealings with him in any way. Mr. Burge was born in Troy, New York, May 25, 1842. He was a son of William and June (Stevens) Burge, both natives of England, where they spent their earlier years, finally emigrating to America and establishing the family home at Troy, New York, where they spent the rest of their lives, Mr. Burge engaging in the blacksmith's trade. To these parents seven children were born, of whom George W., of this memoir, was the youngest, and of whom only two are now living. George W. Burge spent his boyhood in his native city and was partly educated there, and when he was but fifteen years of age he and his brother, James Burge, came to Springfield, Missouri, where our subject finished his education and here he spent the rest of his life, about forty-five years, during which period he saw the city whose interests he had at heart, grow from a mere village to the metropolis of southern Missouri. His first business venture was as a druggist on the south side of the public square, in which he continued about three years, then moved to aA farm north of Doling Park and lived there four years then moved back to town and began clerking in a drug store on the North Side. In the spring of 1876 he went into the general merchandise business on East Commercial street, in which he remained, enjoying a large and lucrative business and ranking among the leading merchants of the city, until his retirement from active life in 1886. He had been very successful in a business way, and accumulated considerable valuable property and a competency, and the last sixteen years of his life were spent in looking after his property interests, his death occurring, April 12, 1902. Politically, he was a Republican. He belonged to the United Workmen order. He was a charter member of Benton Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, was long a trustee in the same and was prominent in church work. On January 4, 1865, Mr. Burge married in Rolla, Missouri, Ellen A. Starks, who was born in Ware, Massachusetts, near the city of Springfield, October 18, 1843. She is a daughter of Charles L. and Amelia Dorman (Whitman) Starks, also Massachusetts people, from which state in 1852 the family moved to Georgia and after remaining there a short time came on to Tennessee, and in 1858 to Missouri, locating on a farm about fifteen miles from Springfield, and in 1860 they moved to this city. Mr. Starks devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. His birth occurred, July 4, 1819, and he died in January, 1887. His wife was born in March, 1820, and died in 1896. Politically he was a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Starks were the parents of four children, two of whom are now deceased. Mr. Starks was the owner of land near this city which is now known as the Starks Addition. In his earlier life he was a stone mason by trade. He sold the first lot on the corner of Campbell and Mill streets, on which a foundry was built. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Starks were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The union of George W. Burge and wife was without issue. Mrs. Ellen A. Burge owns a beautiful home on Washington avenue, Springfield, and she is a great church worker, being a charter member of the Benton Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, being trustee of the local church ever since its organization; she is also an influential member of the Ladies' Aid Society. James T. Burge, brother of the subject of this memoir, first came to Springfield in 1855 from Troy, New York, returning to his home in 1857, and soon thereafter he brought George W. Burge to Springfield and they located here. He was a contractor and built many of the leading buildings, public and private, in this city and vicinity. He was born in England in 1831 and his death occurred February 25, 1911. He was never married. He was a resident of Springfield for a period of fifty-five years, and his name figures conspicuously in the early history of the city and county. George W. Burge was a member of the Home Guards, organized in Springfield in 1861 under Colonel Holland, and served three months for the Union, aiding in the defense of this city against the Confederates. Both he and his brother worked in the government shops at Rolla, this state, for some time during the war. The work of Mrs. Ellen A. Burge as a broad-minded, conscientious Christian woman can not be estimated. Her lasting monument will be the splendid Burge Deaconess Hospital of Springfield which she built in 1907, after Mr. Burge's death. She has turned the property over to the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal church, she being still president of the local board of managers. This is one of the leading hospitals of the Southwest, is modern in every respect, sanitary, attractive and is well patronized. Its medical staff is composed of many of the leading physicians and surgeons of the city. Its training school for nurses has no superior. Dr. J. C. Matthews and Rev. J. W. Stewart, appreciating the inadequate hospital accommodations here, saw the possibilities of a Protestant hospital, and the former took the matter up with Mrs. Ellen A. Burge, who became interested at once, and offered a site on North Jefferson street to the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist church for a Deaconess hospital. The building on the site was remodeled so as to meet the requirements of an up-to-date hospital, and it was opened on Thanksgiving day 1906, and during the early part of the following year the work was in proper swing, having opened up much better than had been expected, and soon it was found that the quarters would have to be increased. In August, 1907, Mrs. Burge purchased the lot adjoining on the south with a view of erecting in the future a large modern brick building. Ground was broken for the same the 21st of October following, and the building was dedicated March 20, 1908, and the first patients admitted to the new building the following July. The institution has been a decided success, hundreds of patients being cared for, and hundreds of dollars' worth of charity work has been done. In fact, this excellent hospital has filled a long-felt want and is greatly appreciated by the people of Springfield. Those actively in charge of the hospital very appropriately paid Mrs. Burge the following tribute, entitled "A Fragrant Life," which was published in their first annual report of the work of this institution, and which we believe should be appended to this article: "In the picturesque northwest of this country flow the Gallatin and Jefferson rivers, each unmindful of the existence of the other. They are drawn unconsciously together at Fort Benton, Montana., From this union of waters, commence the melodious annals of the muddy, yet mighty Missouri river, having many miles of river banks and encircling them with its alluvial deposits. "Some years ago Charles Starks and Amelia Dorman, two helpful hopeful and loving lives, were flowing on unconscious of any future relations. The Almighty guided these lives, made them strong and beautiful. Their life plans were merged, their lives became a unit. Into Ellen A., their daughter, flowed the best of their souls' desires. And the symphony of their lives has been heard all these years as a sweet cadenced tone of glorified love. This daughter, a follower of Jesus Christ, was the helpmeet of George W. Burge, and their lives, though not blessed by the prattle and music of childish lips, a cause of regret to them, yet their love was not buried in the casket of selfishness, but became a beautiful shrine on the road way of life, where many have worshipped. Their clouds have departed and its burning light on the altar, the beauty of its power have cheered the hearts and strengthened the souls who lingered as they passed, laying a wreath at its portals. Many and happy were the days of their united lives. God prospered them and they in gratitude gave to God's kingdom. For no fairer blossom casts its glorious sheen with richer color and balmer fragrance than true gratitude. "Mrs. Burge is a charter member and first Sunday school superintendent of Benton Avenue Methodist Episcopal church in Springfield, Missouri, and the helper in the erection of four edifices on the present site. Her inspiration in this work was contagious. Others came laden with rare gifts from their heart's chamber of self-sacrifice. She came to God's altar, presented her gifts to the Marionville College, the Burge Deaconess hospital and Benton Avenue Methodist Episcopal church. She went away with the modest glow of the graceful violet, happy because she could bloom, fill her niche in life and help bless men. She was always looking up and not down, ‘Pessimism’s but a screen, Thrust the light and you between But the sun shines bright, I wean, Just behind it.’ "Mrs. Burge was always ready to listen to the good things about her friends. The unpleasant pained her heart. Ever loyal to her church, her sympathy was a deep well. When a life-long friend was sadly bereaved, she could not go to her at once, but after three or four days she brought the tribute of her soul's love. Like a well in the mountain side which you can neither see nor hear, because of its depth, yet its crystalline waters assuage the traveler's thirst. With loving hands to help in causes good and true, she finds that the light at the evening time doth brightly shine. You might see, her as with hopeful step and buoyant heart she walks, Mrs. Ellen A. Burge, the donor of our hospital, in the devious ways of life. A handmaid blessed of God, may her years be many in the service for her Lord. God grant that the mantle of her gentle nature may fall on every reader of these lines." CHARLES R. BUSCH. From the life record of Charles R. Busch many useful lessons may be gleaned by the youth starting out on the road to success in railroad service, for he has been a man who believed in the wise saying of an old philosopher, "Lose no time in getting off the wrong road as soon as you discover that you are traveling it." He has been an advocate of progress in all phases of life, progress at any sacrifice, and, this being a fact, he has achieved a somewhat unusual degree of success for so young a man, but he began early to advance himself in his chosen arena of endeavor and has left no stone unturned whereby he might do so, and the future for him is redolent with promise. Mr. Busch, who is chief clerk of the reclamation plant of the South Side Frisco shops, Springfield, was born in this city January 29, 1892. He is a son of Charles J. Busch, who was born near the River Rhine, in Germany, and who was brought to America by his parents when he was four years of age, and was educated at Litchfield, Illinois, in both German and English, receiving a fine education, although he left school when seventeen years of age. He soon became foreman for his father in the Litchfield Car and Foundry Company, holding this position for four years, when he went to Quincy, Illinois, as machinist for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad and worked there a year. He located in Springfield in 1877 and began working as machinist in the Frisco North Side shops, being promoted to machinist foreman there in 1889, which position he filled until 1899, and in that year was promoted to general foreman, which position he held until his death, on February 7, 1913, at the age of fifty-five years. Politically, he was a Democrat and was prominent in the affairs of his party. He was county committeeman of Greene county for a period of twenty years and was a member of the city council. He did much for the general welfare of Springfield and was one of the city's most valuable and influential citizens for some two decades. Fraternally, he was a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security, the Modern Woodmen of America, a charter member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and also belonged to the Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Catholic church. He belonged to the Germania Hall German Society, and was one of the most influential Teutons of Springfield. In 1876 Charles J. Busch married Catherine Holland, a daughter of Charles M. and Annie M. Holland. She was reared and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was at one time a tobacco planter and lived at Cincinnati many years. She was educated in a convent. She is now living with her son, our subject, and is now fifty-one years of age. Five children were born to Charles J. Busch and wife, namely: Lena died in infancy; Edna married J. J. O'Dowd, chief clerk to the president of the Southern Pacific railroad, and he lives at Tucson, Arizona; Charles R. of this review; Julions is deceased; and Leo, who is attending school at this writing. The paternal grandfather of our subject was also named Charles Busch and he was a native of Germany, and a coffin maker by trade. He grew up in the Fatherland and there received his education and learned his trade, remaining there until he was about twenty-three years of age when he immigrated to America and located in Buffalo, New York, where he remained two years working as a cabinet maker, then went to Litchfield, Illinois, where he opened up the Litchfield Car and Foundry Company, which concern made all the equipment for all railroads west of Chicago for some time. He remained thus successfully engaged until 1895, at which time the foundry was sold to the American Car and Foundry Company, when he resigned and retired from active life. He was general manager of the concern which he founded, and through his exceptional business acumen and industry it grew to very large proportions and made him wealthy. He was the largest stockholder in the company. He is still living, being eighty-five years of age, and makes his home in Litchfield, Illinois. He started in business in this country on a small scale, manufacturing wheelbarrows and other small conveyances, and gradually, but surely, he became one of the leading and well known manufacturers of the Middle West, and solely by his own efforts forged ahead from an humble beginning to a man of wealth and influence in the manufacturing world. He is a Scottish Rite Mason. Charles R. Busch was educated in the public and high schools and St. Joseph's Catholic school. Thus well equipped for his life work, he began his railroad career. In 1909 as stock clerk in the stock room of the Frisco's North Side shops, Springfield, where he remained until October 13, 1910, when he took a trip to Tucson, Arizona, with his brother-in-law, J. J. O’Dowd, the latter having lost his health and believing that the climate of the Southwest would benefit him. Our subject accepted a position with the general manager of the Mountain States Telegraph Company as private secretary, but three months later the company sold out to the Bell Telephone Company. He then entered the service of the Arizona & Eastern railroad and the Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico as accountant, with offices at Tucson. He remained there until January, 1912, when he was promoted to the position of traveling accountant, covering all the western lines of these companies. While at Tucson he studied at the University of Arizona, taking up law and economics, studying at night. On September 1, 1913, he came to Springfield, Missouri, on account of the illness of his father, and here secured a position as foreman at the North Side Frisco shops in the general store department then was promoted to accountant at the general stores; then became assistant chief clerk to A. H. Young, September 24, 1913 resigning and accepting a position as foreman of the reclamation plant, and on October 24, 1913, was promoted to chief clerk of this department in the South Side shops, under R. F. Whalen, which position he is holding at this writing, the duties of which he is discharging in his usual high grade and faithful manner. In 1912 Mr. Busch was detailed by certain American interests to collect various data and information concerning varied enterprises in the states of Sonora, Cinaloa and the territory of Tepic, Mexico, he made a trip in a motor car over a vast part of the southern republic, and, being a man of keen observation and quick perceptive faculties, secured the information desired in a short time, and while there saw something of the great revolution, and upon his return to Arizona wrote a graphic, interesting and valuable article on his trip, telling of his varied experiences, the manners and customs of the natives, the resources of the countries he visited, and touched upon such other points in a manner that would have been a credit to a trained and experienced man of letters. Mr. Busch has remained unmarried. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Delta Omikron Omikron. Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights and Ladies of Security and the Loyal Order of Moose. He is a member of the Catholic church. Personally, he is popular with all who know him owing to his genial and obliging manners and genuine worth which the stranger at once perceives upon meeting him. NELSON GARRETT BUTLER. The farmers of this generation are learning that with the change of climate and general conditions in the Ozark region they must employ somewhat different methods in tilling the soil, learning, among other things, that continued cropping exposes the land to various weaknesses of the particular crop that is grown, and as no two crops extract the same proportion of plant food, the continually grown crop is bound to lessen the available fertility of one or more of the principal soil constituents. Rotation has the effect of making available all of the plant food element, and as the average soil is generally well supplied with fertile material, depletion will come that much sooner unless proper steps are taken to maintain the principal soil ingredients. These and many other problems of modern farming are well understood by Nelson Garrett Butler, a farmer of Republic township, Greene county. Mr. Butler was born near Ozark, Christian county, on a farm, October 24, 1857. He is a son of Benjamin and Emily (Morland) Butler, both of whom came from Michigan to Christian county, Missouri, in an early day or during the Civil war period, and shortly after locating here Mr. Butler joined the Union army, and was in a number of battles, serving several years, during which he contracted a disease which disabled him, resulting in his discharge from the service. He returned home, but soon contracted smallpox which caused his death in March, 1862, and about a month later his widow also died. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Frank is living but his whereabouts are unknown; Will is engaged in farming in Oregon; Norman lives in Oklahoma; Fernando is deceased; Benjamin lives in Republic township; Nelson G., subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Myers lives in Oklahoma; the youngest child died in infancy. The parents of the above named children were living on our subject's grandfather's farm at the time of their deaths, and Nelson, G. Butler continued to live with his grandfather for some time, then went to make his home with an uncle when about seven years of age, with whom he remained until he was ten years of age, when he went to live with an older brother, remaining with him about a year, after which he went to live at the home of Matt Martin and there he remained about six years, then came to Greene county and hired out to James Decker, but after a short time hired to Thomas Rose, for whom he worked two years, also worked for G. W. O'Neal two years, then went to California and lived in that state four years, working on a farm. Returning to Missouri he located in Cedar county, and a year later came back to Greene county and once more took up his abode at the O'Neal home. Mr. O'Neal moved to Republic to look after his lumber yard there, and left our subject in charge of his farm. Later Mr. Butler rented Mr. O'Neal's farm and operated it for five years, and while there purchased eighty acres of land in section 13, Republic township, built a comfortable home thereon and moved into it. He has managed his affairs in a successful manner and is now owner of a productive farm of one hundred and seventy-six acres, on which he carries on general farming, and stock raising. Mr. Butler was married on September 12, 1886, to Martha Britain, a daughter of James and Eliza (Wade) Britain. The father was born in this county, but the mother's birth occurred in the state of Georgia, and from there she came to Greene county, Missouri, when she was a child. She is one of nine children, named as follows: George, deceased; Nancy, deceased; Thomas, deceased; James lives in Republic; Martha, wife of our subject; Eliza is the wife of Albert White, of Republic; Harvey is deceased; Harry and Laura, twins, the former lives in Pond Creek township, this county, and the latter is deceased. Mrs. Butler received her education in the common schools of Pond Creek township, where she grew to womanhood. Our subject received his education in Christian and Webster counties. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Butler, namely: Elsie is the wife of Sam Brown, of Pond Creek township; Nadie is the wife of George O'Neal, of Republic; Maude is the wife of Ed. Mooneyham, of Pond Creek township; Frank lives with his parents and helps work the home farm. Politically Mr. Butler is a Republican, and has always voted this ticket in national affairs since reaching manhood. He and his wife and daughters are members of the Missionary Baptist church at Hopewell. STEPHEN E. BUTLER. It is no reflection when we say a man is a Hoosier; on the contrary it is a compliment, if the word is properly understood. All natives of the great state of Indiana are known as Hoosiers, and everyone knows that some of the greatest men of the nation have been born and reared on her soil, including presidents, vice-presidents, great statesmen, renowned army and navy officers and famous literary men and women. Stephen E. Butler, foreman of the tin shop of the reclamation plant in the South Side Frisco shops, Springfield, is a Hoosier although not yet belonging in the class of the mighty just enumerated, however, being yet a young man and possessing those traits that win success, one must necessarily predict for him a future of usefulness and more than average success. Mr. Butler was born April 23, 1882, in Stark county, Indiana. He is a son of Austin D. Butler, a native of Ohio, and a carpenter by trade. He left his native state when a young man and located in Stark county, Indiana, where he remained until 1888, when he went to Helena, Montana, whither he removed his family the following year, and there his, death occurred in 1897 at the early age of forty-six years. He was a soldier in the Spanish-American war; however, contracting malaria typhoid in the Philippines not long after his enlistment, he was sent back home, having spent about a year in service. He was a member of Company L, First Montana Volunteer Infantry. Upon his recovery from the malaria typhoid he resumed his trade of journeyman carpenter, in which he was exceptionally skilled. As a soldier his comrades say he was brave, faithful and intelligent. His untimely death was by accident, having been drowned in the Missouri river near Stubbs Ferry, where he was working on a dredge. Politically he was a Democrat He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. His widow, who was known in her maidenhood. As Alice Miller, is now the wife of A. J. Lemkie, and they reside in Helena, Montana. Three children were born to her union with Mr. Butler, namely: Stephen E. of this sketch; Ethel married Earl B. Richardson, who is engaged in the retail drug business at Helena; Hazel married Charles H. Coar, superintendent of the telephone company at Minot, North Dakota. Stephen E. Butler was seven years of age when his parents removed to Helena, Montana, and there he grew to early manhood and received a common school education; however, he left school when only fourteen years of age and began learning the trade of sheet metal worker there, serving a four years' apprenticeship. He worked with Jacob Rummell about six-years in that city, then went to the Pacific coast and the Northwest where he spent a year working as a tinsmith, after which he came to Kansas City, Missouri, and worked six months, then returned West and worked in Helena and Virginia City three and one-half years, one year of which time he was in business for himself as tinsmith. In March, 1910, he came to Springfield, Missouri, and worked a year for the Anslinger Sheet Metal Works, their took a position in the North Side Frisco shops in March, 1911, as journeyman tinsmith. On November 1, 1913, he was promoted to foreman tinsmith of the reclamation plant at the South Side shops, which position he still holds, and in this, as in all previous positions he is giving entire satisfaction, for he is not only an exceptionally highly skilled man in his line, but is energetic and understands handling those under him to good advantage. Mr. Butler was married in July, 1907, to Dora Etta Burrell, a daughter of Charles and Mary (Codrey) Burrell, who reside on a farm near Conway, Missouri; Mrs. Butler grew to womanhood in Lane, Kansas, and received a common school education there and in California, where the family moved after leaving Kansas. To our subject and wife one child has been born, Austin Elmer Butler, born July 18, 1911. Politically Mr. Butler is a Democrat. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, South. JAMES M. BUTTS. Among the, self-made men of Greene county who deserve their present comfortable situation in life is James Butts, who hails from the renowned Blue Grass state. This latter fact may not have much significance to some who peruse this biography, but maybe if he had not been fortunate enough to have had in his veins the blood of the sterling people who lived in that state in its early history and had not been reared in that splendid environment he would not have succeeded in overcoming the obstacles that have beset his pathway. True it is that the Kentuckians who have located in Greene county have all been courageous, energetic and in every way good citizens, so there must be something after all in the place where we happen to be born as the humorist Bill Nye maintained long ago. Mr. Butts was born in Simpson county, Kentucky, on December 28, 1842. He is a son of H. G. and Mary (Barker) Butts. The father was born in Rockingham county, North Carolina, in 1815, and was reared in Kentucky, to which state he went when a small boy. He had no chance to obtain an education. He made a trip to Texas but returned to Kentucky in 1850, and in 1856 moved to Missouri, locating in Dallas county, where he spent the rest of his life, dying on March 6, 1897. The mother of our subject was born in Simpson county, Kentucky, in 1813, and was reared on the home farm near the city of Franklin. Her death occurred on the Butts farm in Dallas county in 1891. She was a member of the Christian church. To these parents six children were born, namely: Reuben, deceased; John, deceased; James M., of this sketch; Richard, deceased; Nancy deceased; the youngest died in infancy, unnamed. So our subject is the sole survivor of his family. James M. Butts was reared on the farm in Kentucky where he worked hard when a boy. His education was neglected for lack of time and opportunity. He came with the family to Missouri in 1856, and located in Greene county in 1885. Here he went to work in a mercantile establishment, later worked in a mill, then secured employment in a drug store. He became owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty-four acres in Dallas county. His present neat little farm of fifty-eight acres in Jackson township, Greene county, is well kept. Mr. Butts was married in 1861 to Mary F. McGlothlin, who was born in Barry county, Missouri, on August 26, 1846. She is a daughter of Alexander and Mary (Durham) McGlothlin, both natives of Tennessee, the father born on October 15, 1808, and the mother born on February 2, 1809. They were married on February 22, 1831. They came to Missouri in 1833 and located in Barry county, making the trip over the rough intervening mountainous country in wagons. Their farm in Barry county consisted of three hundred acres. They were among the early settlers in that county. Mr. McGlothlin was influential in public affairs there and at one time represented the county in the state legislature. His death occurred in that county in 1857, in which year also occurred the death of his wife. Mrs. Butts was reared on the home farm in Barry county and received her education in the public schools there. She was ten years old when her parents died, but she continued to reside in her native county until her marriage. She is one of ten children, eight of whom are deceased. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Butts, namely: Columbia, born on July 14, 1864; Mrs. Lula Bryan, born on December 6, 1867; Mrs. Mcie Cowden, born on March 6, 1870; Mrs. Sipie Burford, born on October 26, 1872, is deceased; Mrs. Florence Leslie, born on April 24, 1975; the youngest child, James H., died at the age of thirteen years. Mr. Butts is a member of the Masonic Order, and he belongs to the Christian church.
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