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




JOSEPH S. EAGLEBURGER. It is no very rare thing for a poor boy in our
country to become a prosperous man and occupy a commanding position in the
business world, but many who have fought their way from poverty to wealth,
from obscurity to-prominence, retain some marks and scars of the conflict.
They are apt to be narrow and grasping, even if not sordid and
unscrupulous. Joseph S. Eagleburger, who for many years was one of the
enterprising farmers of Greene county but now engaged in the grocery
business in Springfield, although he did not come up from the ranks of the
poverty stricken and has not reached the affluence of the rich, yet he has
worked his way from a modest, beginning to a comfortable station in the
world of affairs, being an instance of a man who has achieved success
without paying the price at which it is so often bought. His success has
not removed him further from his fellow men, but has brought him into
nearer and more intimate relations with them, and although he has led a
busy life, he has yet found time to devote to those interests which
develop the intellectual and moral nature of man, living not to himself
alone, but laboring, when necessary, to aid his fellow men.

Mr. Eagleburger was born March 1, 1853, in Noble county, Indiana. He is a
son of John and Frances (Spencer) Eagleburger. The father was a native of
Switzerland and the mother was born in Connecticut. The former grew to
manhood in his native land and there attended school and learned the trade
of shoemaker, which he followed until he emigrated to the United States,
after which he followed general farming. He was married in Ohio. He
finally removed about 1856 with his family to Story county, Iowa, where
his death occurred about 1888. His widow survived some two years, dying in
Greene county, Missouri, in 1890. They were the parents of the following
children: William and Samuel are, deceased; James lives in Story county,
Iowa; Margaret lives in Story county, Iowa; Isaac lives in Greene county,
Missouri; Lucy lives in Moniteau county, Missouri; Joseph S., of this
sketch; Susan lives in Washington; John is deceased.

Joseph S. Eagleburger received a common school education in Iowa, and he
grew to manhood on the farm, and began life for himself as a farmer, which
he followed with success up to six years ago. He remained in Iowa until
the fall of 1873, then moved to northwestern Kansas and took up government
land which he operated about twelve years, then moved back to Iowa, and in
1885 came to Greene county, Missouri, locating ten miles north of
Springfield, buying fifty acres. As he prospered with advancing years he
added to this until he became owner of two hundred and forty acres, all in
Franklin township. He carried on general farming and stock, raising there
until 1908, when he sold out and moved to Springfield and on July 20th of
that year began in the grocery business at his present location, 2304
Springfield avenue, where he owns a substantial brick block and is
conducting a thriving business under the firm name of Eagleburger & Son,
carrying a large stock of staple and fancy groceries, feed and flour.

Mr. Eagleburger was married June 3, l882, in Kansas, to Mary Noel, who was
born in Lee county, Illinois, April 23, 1859. She is a daughter of Mathias
and Anna (Fredericks) Noel, who were natives of Prussia, emigrating to
this country in their early years and locating in Lee county, Illinois,
where they established the family home. Mrs. Eagleburger, wife of the
subject of this sketch, was one of sixteen children, thirteen of whom
still live in various sections of the United States.

Mrs. Eagleburger moved to Kansas shortly before her marriage. Her parents
died in Illinois. She received a good education.

Ten children have been born to our subject and wife, seven of whom are
still living, namely: Barbara, John (deceased), Frank, Charles, George,
Ella, Maud, Bert, Lillian (deceased), and Blanche.

Politically, Mr. Eagleburger is a Democrat. He is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the Encampment. He belongs to
the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon and is active.




C. W. EARNEST. Nature's remedies and methods for curing the ills of man,
beast or soil are always the best and most economical. So we must learn
the simple lesson that wherever the necessary mineral elements of plant
food are deficient, whether it is because they never were deposited in
sufficient quantity by nature or whether they have been exhausted by
erosion or repeated cropping, we must not only return them in their
natural form, but we must make them available for plant food by supplying
organic matter in abundance. No considerable increased crop yields will be
realized until these facts are thoroughly understood and methods involving
their application adopted. C. W. Earnest, a farmer of Cass township,
Greene county, has long been aware of these facts and has governed his
methods of agriculture accordingly, and that is the reason that he has
prospered.

Mr. Earnest was born, December 3, 1839, in Blount county, eastern
Tennessee. He is a son of Wesley Earnest, who was born in Greene county,
Tennessee, September 10, 1796. His parents located in that state among the
early settlers and there he grew to manhood, attended the early day
schools, taught in log cabins, later studying at a college for awhile. His
active life was devoted to general farming. He remained in his native
state until 1851, when he removed to Missouri. He married, in his native
state, Nancy Ramsey, a daughter of John Ramsey. She was born in Tennessee,
August 20, 1800. To their union nine children were born, two of whom died
when young, namely: John R., deceased, came to Greene county, Missouri,
where he became one of the judges of the County Court; William was drowned
when a boy; James C., born May 11, 1828 died in 1905; Malinda died a few
years ago; Susan died when young; Polly Ann died in girlhood; Nancy Ann
died many years ago; C. W. of this sketch; Elizabeth is the widow of
George Biggs, he being deceased. A half sister to these children was Eliza
Blackburn, who married Charles Hughes.

C. W. Earnest grew to manhood on his father's farm where he worked when a
boy. He was twelve years of age when he removed with his family to Greene
county, Missouri. He received his education in the common schools. After
spending nineteen years on his father's farm in this county, he removed in
1871 to the farm which he now owns, thus he has lived on one place
forty-four years, during which he has developed one of the best farms in
Cass township, bringing it up to a high state of improvement and
fertility. His farm consists of two hundred and five acres. He carries on
general farming and stock raising, having formerly devoted much of his
attention to raising mules.

During the Civil War he served two years in the militia, on the Federal
side, however, he did not have occasion to do any active fighting.

Mr. Earnest was married in 1891, to Elizabeth Murray, to which union three
children were born, two of whom died in infancy; Jessie is living at home.
The death of the wife and mother occurred June 28, 1903. On November 18,
1906, our subject married Tennie Sneed. This union has been without issue.

Politically, Mr. Earnest is a Democrat, and while he is in no sense a
politician, he has always been loyal in his support of all movements
looking to the betterment of his township and county in any way. He is a
member of the Presbyterian church at Cave Spring. Having lived so long in
the northern part of Greene county he is one of the best known men in this
locality, and his reputation for right living is all that could be
desired.




JAMES HOWARD EARNEST. This is an age of specialization. Nearly everybody
has a hobby and is doing or trying to do some one thing well-better than
all the rest of the things that he is engaged in. It is found among the
farmers of Greene county that many of them are specializing in corn. Some
farm animal, as a particular breed of cows, will make as good a specialty
as corn. It does not make much difference what it is so it is the one kind
of stock in which the owner has the greatest interest. The more one gives
his attention to his specialty the more it will take possession of him and
while he gets a great deal of pleasure and makes a financial success of
his chosen line the danger is that he will neglect his other stock or
crops in his desire to excel in his specialty. James Howard Earnest,
well-known farmer of Murray township, is one of the citizens of Greene
county who is making a specialty of fine full-blooded Jersey cattle and at
the same time is successful as a general farmer, being careful to not
neglect any department of his well-regulated farm.

Mr. Earnest was born in the above named township and county, September 2,
1850, and is a representative of an old and influential family of this
locality. He is a son of John Ramsey Earnest and Sarah H. (McClure)
Earnest. The father was born in eastern Tennessee in 1822, and was. a son
of Wesley and Elizabeth (Blackburn-Ramsey) Earnest, both natives of
Tennessee, in which state they grew up, were married and made their home
there until 1851, when they immigrated to Greene county, Missouri, and
lived the rest of their lives on-a farm, his death occurring in 1860 and
his wife died in Cave Spring. John R. Earnest, father of our subject, grew
to manhood in Tennessee and received his education there in the early-day
subscription schools. He had passed his twenty-first birthday when he came
to Greene county, Missouri, and he worked a year on the old Appleby farm
in the northern part of the county, and here he married and settled on
forty acres south of Willard. He sold out later and bought another farm in
the neighborhood consisting of one hundred and sixty acres. Selling this
he bought the old Willey farm of about two hundred and forty acres and
operated it until 1856, when he sold out to Henry Willey and moved to the
John Murray farm, buying out the Murray heirs, and farmed there for about
ten years, then sold out and went to one of the western states and took up
a claim, and was killed by a falling tree in 1879. He was a very
successful farmer and was a man of influence in Murray township. He was
justice of the peace for some time and was administrator in many estates,
in which capacity he discharged his duties in a manner satisfactory to all
concerned. He was elected county judge and filled this position one term
with honor and credit to himself and to the township and county.
Fraternally, he was an enthusiastic Mason, belonging to the lodge at
Ebenezer, Missouri. He was an active Democrat and a local leader in the
party. He was a worthy member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in
which he was an elder for years. He was highly esteemed by all who knew
him. His wife, Sarah H. McClure, was born in Tennessee about 1832 and her
death occurred in Greene county, Missouri, in 1864. He married his second
wife in 1865, Bonde Arnn, a native of Tennessee, who died in Texas in
1904.

John R. Earnest was the father of seven children by his first marriage,
and three by his second; those by his first wife were named as follows:
James H., of this sketch, the second died in infancy, Mary Virginia,
Elizabeth and Nathan are all three deceased; John Charles lives in
California; Mrs. Sarah H..Halloway lives in Jefferson City, Missouri. The
following children were by his last wife; Mrs. Anna Love Saddler lives in
Texas; Luther and Walter, both make their homes in the Lone Star state
also.

James H. Earnest spent his boyhood days on the farm in Murray township and
assisted his father with the general work during the crop seasons. He
received his education in the district schools at Cave Spring and in the
old Murray school. Early in life he began farming for himself and operated
land in different parts of Murray township, moving to his present farm in
1884. He had eighty acres at first, but prospering through close
application and good management he added to his holdings and now has a
finely improved and productive farm of one hundred acres, on which he
carries on general, farming and stock raising, making a specialty of
full-blooded Jersey cattle, which are greatly admired by all who see them,
who know how to appreciate livestock of a superior grade. In connection
with his general farming he operates a dairy under modern and sanitary
methods, and finds a very ready market for his products. He has a pleasant
home and a number of convenient, substantial outbuildings, and everything
about his place denotes good management and industry.

Mr. Earnest has been twice married, first, in 1872, to Mary Ann Parrish, a
native of Greene county, Missouri. She died in 1875 without issue. In 1877
Mr. Earnest married Sarah Frances Stakley, a native of Lawrence county,
Missouri, and to this union three children have been born, namely: Ethel,
who married William H. Grafton, of Willard, has five children, Joseph,
Newman, Homer, Rolla and Kermit; Orville, second child of our subject,
married Bessie Lee; they live in Sarcoxie, Missouri, and have one child,
Ellen; Bertha, third child of our subject, lives in Powersite, Missouri.

Politically, Mr. Earnest is an independent voter, and is a man who takes a
deep interest in the general welfare of his township and county.




HOWARD BENTLEY EAST. The biographies of successful men are instructive as
guides and incentives to those whose careers are yet to be achieved. The
examples they furnish of patient purpose and consecutive endeavor strongly
illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish, if he is willing to
press forward in the face of all opposition, refusing to be downed by
untoward circumstances, thus making stepping-stones of what some would
find to be insurmountable stumbling blocks. The gentleman whose life
history herewith is, succinctly and, we hope, accurately set forth, is a
conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and achieved a
definite degree of success in the special spheres to which his energies
and talents have been devoted.

Howard Bentley East, president of the Bank of Willard, and one of the most
progressive agriculturists and useful Citizens of Murray township, Greene
county, was born January 31, 1855, on the old home farm in the above named
township, and is a son of Sidney and Eliza (Williams) East. Sidney East
was born in Indiana, February 1, 1822, and was a son of Jahhue and Sarah
East, both natives of Indiana also where they grew up and were married and
spent the earlier part of their lives, and there their son, Sidney, grew
to manhood and received the usual meager educational advantages of the
times. He was twenty years of age when he removed with his parents from
that state to Greene county, Missouri, in 1842; they located in Murray
township, where, three miles northwest of Willard, Jahhue East spent the
rest of his life engaged in general farming, dying about 1858. He owned
eighty acres of good land. Politically, he was a Democrat. His wife
belonged to the Baptist church.

Sidney East was married in what is now Murray township in 1853 to Eliza
Williams, a daughter of Abner and Mary (Folden) Williams, both natives of
western Tennessee, the father's birth occurring there on March 1, 1800,
and the mother was born on November 8, 1807. Mr. Williams died March 1,
1863, and his widow survived until October 24, 1896. These parents grew to
maturity in Tennessee and were married there and removed to Greene county,
Missouri, when their daughter, Eliza, was seven years old. The family was
accompanied by Abner's brother, Melton Williams and wife, the party making
the overland trip in wagons, with ox teams, from Henderson county, the
trip practically all the way being over a wild, rough country. Upon
reaching Springfield they found only a cross-roads dry goods store and a
blacksmith shop surrounded by almost a wilderness. They began life here in
the pioneer fashion. Eliza Williams was born in l832, and was therefore a
young girl when her family brought her to this county in 1841. Her father
took up a claim of one hundred and twenty acres and purchased forty acres
more. This land he cleared and improved and in due course of time had a
good home. Politically, he was a Democrat and he and his wife were members
of the Missionary Baptist church at Mt. Pleasant. Sidney East was the
third child in a family of nine children, all of whom are now deceased.
After his marriage, Sidney East purchased eighty acres of land, which he
farmed until his death, in 1858. His family consisted of three children,
namely: Alvin Munroe is deceased; Howard Bentley, of this review , and
Tabitha Clementine, who died in infancy. After the death of the father the
mother of these children married again, in 1860, to Henry Grant, a son of
John and Catherine Grant. A history of the Grant family will be found on
another page of this work, in the sketch of William W. Grant.

Howard B. East was reared on the home farm in Murray township, where he
worked when a boy, and he received a good practical education in the
common schools, which has later been supplemented by actual contact with
the world and by wide home reading until he is today a well informed man a
great variety of subjects. On December 12, 1878, he married SusanWadlow, a
daughter of John Wesley and Mary Ann (Lethco) Wadlow. The Wadlows is one
of the prominent old families of this part of Greene county, and the
reader is directed to the sketch of Albert Sidney McLinn in this for a
history of the Wadlows. Mrs. East was reared to womanhood in her native
community and received a public school education.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. East, named as follows:
Bertie, born November 10, 1879, who married Walter E. Gilmore, of Murray
township, and they have two children, Evelyn and Rolland; Homer, born
November 1, 1881, who married Julia Maples, lives in Springfield, and they
have three children, Eunice, Geraldine and Howard; Bentley, born October
21, 1886, who married Josie Johnson, lives on a farm near Cave Spring,
Cass township; Wilford, born June 1, 1897, is attending school in
Springfield; and Edwin, born April 3, 1899, is at home.

Mr. East was only seventeen years of age when he took up farming, and
after his marriage he operated the original eighty acres of the homestead,
on which he made many improvements, including a large, substantial barn in
1900, also remodeled the residence in an up-to-date manner and prospering
by good management and close application, he added another eighty to his
holdings, and he is now owner of two hundred and fifty-six acres, ninety
acres of which lie in Cass township, the balance in Murray township. He
has brought this fine and productive farm up to a high state of
cultivation and improvement and it is one of the most valuable and
desirable farms in the northern part of Greene county. Everything is in
ship-shape and indicates that a gentleman of thrift, good taste and good
management has given it his careful attention. He carries on general
farming and stock raising on a large scale, and handles great numbers of
various kinds of live stock annually, dealing in mules, horses and cattle
quite extensively. He has been president of the Bank of Willard since its
incorporation, in 1911, and its large success and constantly growing
prestige has been due to his able management, keen business discernment
and his straightforward and scrupulously honest methods in dealing with
his many patrons. It is one of the sound, safe and conservatively managed
banks of the county. A general banking business is carried on. Its capital
stock is ten thousand dollars and five thousand dollars surplus, and it
has a very large deposit for a bank in a small town. Its other officers
are: J. W. Clutter, vice-president, and J. E. Cahill.

Politically, Mr. East is a Republican and has been active and influential
in local public affairs. He served one term as judge of the Greene county
court, being elected to this responsible position in 1902, and he
discharged his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself
and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He is a member of the Missionary
Baptist church, as is also his wife, and. they both take a very active
interest in church work. He has been deacon of the congregation at Willard
for a number of years and is regarded as one of the pillars of the church
here. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Personally, he is a man of pleasing disposition, a good mixer, is
universally esteemed and is a strong factor in his township.




HENRY EATON. From a sterling family of the old Pine Tree state came the
late Henry Eaton, for many years one of the prominent business men of
Springfield, and having inherited many of the commendable traits of his
rugged ancestors, he won not only material success, but also a creditable
position as a citizens He was a man of industry, prompt in the discharge
of his every-day duties, and he gradually overcome the obstacles in his
pathway and became one of the substantial men of his city, and his
standing here as a thorough going, honorable man of affairs, was such as
affords the keenest satisfaction to his family and friends, and no doubt
was gratifying to himself, and in the true sense in which the term is used
his life was a signal success.

Mr. Eaton was born on October 10, 1840, in Stonington, formerly known as
Greene's Landing, a small island off the coast of Maine. He was a son of
Charles and Rebecca (Doane) Eaton. The father was born in Stonington,
Maine, also, and the mother was a native of Newberg, that state, the birth
of Charles Eaton occurring in 1810, and Rebecca Doane first saw the light
of day in 1818. These parents grew to maturity in their native state,
received meager educations and were married there. They each represented
old families of New England. Nathan Eaton, the paternal grandfather,
established the family home in Maine when that state was sparsely settled.
Charles Eaton spent his life in Maine, where he engaged extensively in the
mercantile business, dry goods and groceries, also owned several fishing
vessels, and carried on fishing on a large commercial scale. His family
consisted of eight children, five of whom are still living.

Henry Eaton grew to manhood in Maine and assisted his father when a boy
and he received his education in the public schools, also attended a
seminary. After leaving school he went to sea for awhile, and was also
associated with his father for some time in merchandising, remaining there
until 1870, when he came to Missouri and located in Clinton, Henry county,
where he remained two years, and traveled for Cole Brothers, of Mt.
Pleasant, Iowa, then came to Springfield and went into the transfer
business, becoming a member of the firm of Bryan & Eaton, and later
conducted the business alone. It grew to large proportions, and his vans
and teams were to be seen all over the city daily. Later he added coal and
ice to his transfer business and also did a large business in this line of
endeavor, and continued both with increasing success until his death.
Honesty and promptness were his aims, and he had the good will and
confidence of the people. He was also interested in mining and other lines
of business.

Mr. Eaton was married on June 30, 1863, to Tryphosa B. Raynes, who was
born at Sunset, on the same island in Maine on which Mr. Eaton was born,
her birth occurring on November 27, 1845. She is a daughter of Abial and
Susan (Lufkin) Ravnes, both parents being natives of that vicinity also,
and there they grew up and were married, and Mr. Raynes became a sailor,
was shipwrecked on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and although he lived
to reach shore, died of cold and exposure later. Mrs. Eaton's family were
all seafaring people. Mrs. Eaton's grandfather, William Raynes, was born
in 1778, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-one years; his wife, Ruth
Sylvester, was born in 1789 and died in 1852. John Raynes, father of
William, Raynes, was born in 1753 and died in 1837; his wife, Deborah
Cuchman Sylvester, died in 1837 also. Capt. Edmond Sylvester, the maternal
great-grandfather of Mrs. Henry Eaton, was born on June 17, 1762, and he
served a short time in the Revolutionary war, and thereby Mrs. Eaton is a
member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her grandfather and
grandmother Sylvester were married at Marshfield, Massachusetts, on
December 23, 1784. Mrs. Eaton was the only child of her parents, and she
was but a year old when her father lost his life at sea. She grew to
womanhood in her native community and received a common school education.

To Henry Eaton and wife six children were born, three of whom are
deceased; they were named as follows: Ann is the eldest, Charles is
deceased, Daisy is living, Henry, Jr., is deceased, as is also Kate; Karl,
the youngest, lives in Springfield and is well known among the younger
business men here.

Politically, Henry Eaton was a Republican, and fraternally he belonged to
the Masonic Order. He was called to his eternal rest on March 23, 1913 at
the age of seventy-two and a half years.




WALTON EUGENE EDMONSON. One of the best remembered and most highly
respected citizens of Walnut Grove and vicinity in a past generation was
the late Walton Eugene Edmonson, who, after a successful and honorable
career as farmer, educator and merchant, took his journey to that mystic
clime, Shakespeare's "undiscovered bourne from whence no traveler e'er
returns." when in the prime of life and usefulness; but he left behind him
a heritage of which his descendants may well be proud--an untarnished
name. He was the creditable descendant of one of the earliest pioneer
families of this section of Greene county, the Edmonsons having assisted
in redeeming the rich soil from the primordial state, and here played well
their roles in the drama of civilization and no family has been better
known here for several generations.

Mr. Edmonson was born on a farm near Walnut Grove, August 12, 1866. He was
a son of Fide and Martha (Potter) Edmonson. The father was born in this
vicinity also, in November, 1840, and is therefore approaching his
seventy-fifth birthday. He is a son of Allen and Polly (Julian) Edmonson,
who were very early settlers in Walnut Grove township, clearing and
developing a farm here when the country was sparsely settled, and here
Fide Edmonson grew to manhood on the homestead and early in life began
farming for himself in this locality where he continued to reside until a
few years ago when he removed with his family to Polk county, and has
continued agricultural pursuits; however, is now practically retired. His
wife was also born and reared in Greene county. To them the following
children have been born: Alonzo, who was formerly in the banking business
in Walnut Grove; Walton E., subject of this memoir; Dudley who lives in
Colorado; Edward, who is farming in Polk county; Dollie and Bettie, who
are at home with their parents, and Rufus, also at home.

Walton E. Edmonson, commonly known as "Walter," grew to manhood on the
farm and assisted his father with the general work when he became of
proper age. Being of a studious disposition he obtained a good education
in the local schools and by constant home study. For many years he taught
school in Walnut Grove township and did much to improve the school system,
raising the local schools from common to graded schools, and in many ways
advanced the cause of education in this locality, and he was regarded as
one of the most efficient teachers in the county, and was popular with
both pupils and patrons. In 1891 he gave up educational work and turned
his attention to merchandising in Aldrich, Polk county, and remained there
two years, then came to Walnut Grove and continued general merchandising.
He built up a good trade by his honest and courteous dealings with his
many customers and he continued in this line of endeavor the rest of his
life.

Mr. Edmonson was married on December 31, 1890, to Flora V. Tarrant, who
was born in Dade county, Missouri, June 17, 1870, and there grew to
womanhood and received a good education in the public schools. She is a
daughter of William M. and Josie (King) Tarrant. Mr. Tarrant was born in
Bowling Green, Kentucky, August 20, 1843, and he was brought to Dade
county, Missouri, when a small boy by his parents, and there grew to
manhood, and when the Civil war began he enlisted in the Sixth Regiment,
Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, Union army, and he served gallantly and
faithfully until the close of the struggle, at the termination of which he
received an honorable discharge. He returned to Dade county, where he
followed general agricultural pursuits with success until his death, which
occurred in April, 1904. His widow died July 21, 1914, being well advanced
in years. They were the parents of the following children: Flora V., who
married Mr. Edmonson of this review; Albert B., Fannie and Eva.

To Mr. and Mrs. Edmonson the following children were born: Mamie E., born
in October, 1891, is the wife of J. A. Poindexter, a farmer of Dade.
county; Lucy E., born in November, 1893, is the wife of Chester A. Holder,
a farmer in Walnut Grove township; Cliff E., born December 12, 1895, is
the wife of R. B. McDonald, of Walnut Grove, and Travis E., born October
24, 1896, lives in Walnut Grove.

The death of Mr. Edmonson occurred on December 8, 1896, when only a few
months past his thirtieth birthday, his untimely death being lamented by
his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, Politically, he was a
Democrat. He was a worthy member of the Presbyterian church, and
fraternally, was a member of the Masonic Order and was very active in the
work of the same.

After the death of our subject, Mrs. Edmonson opened a millinery store in
Walnut Grove, which she conducted with much success, enjoying a large
patronage and soon won a reputation for a skilled and tasty trimmer. On
May 12, 1913, she was appointed postmistress at Walnut Grove and is now
incumbent of the same. She has discharged her duties in this connection in
a faithful and highly acceptable manner to both the department and the
people.




ANDREW JACKSON EISENMAYER. One of Springfield's representative citizens is
Andrew Jackson Eisenmayer, whose life has been spent in activities that
seem to exercise to the full his somewhat varied and unusual abilities; a
life that carries with it the lesson that one whose capacity, wholly not
of the very greatest, may yet do great work by close devotion to the task
in hand. He is a busy man, an industrious man. For the past thirty years
he has been successfully engaged in building up one of the important
industries of Greene county, one of the largest of its kind in
southwestern Missouri having been manager during that protracted period of
the Eisenmayer Milling Company. He has attained a place in the commercial
world of high degree and compelling importance in this locality, in which
he is a constant quantity—one of the kind that makes up the front rank,
the kind that can be relied on, a good work man in the world's affairs, a
splendid specimen of the many that do the real, hard work of the world in
places of passing importance, and do it well. His is a kind of life that
does not attract attention for its unusual brilliancy or any picturesque
or erratic qualities, but the kind out of which the warp and woof of the
substance that goes to make up the continuous achievement of humanity is
made.

Mr. Eisenmayer, as his name would indicate, is of German blood, but he is
an American by birth, having first opened his eyes on the light of day in
Mascoutah, Saint Clair county, Illinois, January 27, 1862. He is a son of
Andrew and Christian (Sauter) Eisenmayer, both natives of Bavaria,
Germany, the father's birth having occurred February 22, 1824, and there
they grew to maturity and received their educations. The, paternal
grandparents of our subject were Christopher and Margaret (Sies)
Eisenmayer, both natives of Bavaria, also, his birth occurring in 1784,
and she was born about 1788, and there they grew up and were married in
1807. He became a large land owner, devoting his active life to farming.
During the Neapolitan wars he served in the Home Guards. He was a
Protestant. His death occurred in 1870, and his wife died in 1872. They
were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters. Five of
the sons and one daughter came to America and established their homes.

Andrew Eisenmayer, father of our subject, was seventeen years old when he
immigrated to the United States in 1841. He worked for two years at the
carpenter's trade in Saint Clair county, Illinois, and in 1843 started a
sawmill and a flouring mill in Mascoutah, Illinois, and operated the
latter until 1886, and was known as one of the successful mill men of
Saint Clair county. In 1884 he came to Springfield, Missouri, and
purchased the present mill of the Eisenmayer Milling Company on West
Commercial street, and having accumulated an abundance of this world's
goods, he retired from active life in 1886. Upon purchasing the local mill
he placed his son, Andrew J., of this review, in charge. Politically, he
was first a Whig, later a Republican, and was very active in political
affairs, but would never accept public office, although many were
proffered. He was a director of the German Methodist College at Warrenton,
Missouri, and contributed large sums to its support. He erected a
well-equipped gymnasium which bears his name, for that institution.
Religiously, he was a Methodist, as was his wife and they were both very
active in church work. They grew up in the same locality in the
Fatherland, and after he had gotten a start in the New World he returned
to his native land for her, and they were married in 1847. She was a
daughter of John Sauter, a farmers who was also a member of the Home
Guards during the wars with Napoleon. The death of Andrew Eisenmayer
occurred in 1900, his widow surviving until 1904. They were a fine old
couple, beloved by all who knew them for their true German hospitality and
kindness. They were charitably inclined, and helped in all good causes,
but never gave for the sake of display. Eight children were born to them,
three sons and five daughters, namely: Elizabeth is the wife of Dr. A. E.
Wehrman, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisa is the wife of William
Bromeleich, a banker of Lawrence, Kansas; John C. is engaged in the
banking business in Trenton, Illinois; Kate is the wife of Z. T. Remick,
an attorney in Trenton, Illinois; Andrew Jackson, of this review; Julius
W. is vice-president of the milling firm in which our subject is
interested; Anna E. is the wife of Dr. L. C. Toney, of Los Angeles,
California; Amelia lives in Los Angeles, also.

Andrew. J. Eisenmayer grew to manhood in Saint Clair county, Illinois, and
he received a good education in the common schools of Mascoutah, later
studying at the University of Illinois, at Champaign, and was graduated
from the mechanical engineering department in 1882. After leaving school
he spent a year in his father's mill in Trenton, Illinois, and spent the
following year traveling, and as already intimated he came to Springfield,
Missouri, in 1884 and took charge of the Eisenmayer Milling Company's
plant, and has since been president of the same. Under his able and
judicious management, the business increased with advancing years until it
assumed extensive proportions, its products being sent to very ready
markets all over the country, and it is one of the best known flouring
mills in the Southwest, and is one of the largest mills in this section of
the state, occupying four hundred and sixty feet on Commercial street and
one hundred feet on Broad street, covering forty-six thousand square feet
of ground. One elevator of concrete, of six tanks, has a capacity of one
hundred and forty thousand bushels of wheat, and another elevator has a
capacity of one hundred and eighty thousand bushels. This mammoth plant
has a daily capacity of one thousand barrels of flour, the leading brands
being the "Spotless" and the "Royalty." The plant is modernly equipped in
every respect as to machinery and conveniences, a general milling business
is carried on and a large force of skilled assistants are employed,
everything is managed under a superb system. Thousands of carloads of
flour are sent annually from the railroad spur which has been built
alongside the mill.

Mr. Eisenmayer was married October 1, 1890, to Celia A. Heer, a daughter
of Charles H. Heer. She is a representative of one of the most prominent
Springfield families and is a leader in the best social circles. She was
born in Waterloo, Illinois, in December, 1867. She was given excellent
educational advantages.

The union of our subject and wife has resulted in the birth of five
children, namely: Walter C., born June 3, 1891, is assisting his father in
the mill; Christine, born February 5, 1893, is the wife of Victor Simon,
who is connected with the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Springfield; Louise,
born on March 25, 1897, is attending school; Marie, born February 5, 1900,
is also a student in the local schools; and Andrew J., Jr., born July 12,
1911.

Politically, Mr. Eisenmayer is a Republican, and he has always been more
or less active in public affairs and has done much for the general welfare
of Springfield. He was one of the first councilmen when the city was
consolidated, spending four years in the council, and he was a member of
the local school board for six years. He received a captain's commission
in the military department of the University of Illinois, was president of
the junior class, also president of the literary society, and was elected
president of college government, and other offices of trust and honor were
tendered him, but business affairs prevented him from accepting them.
Those he has held, whether at the University or in Springfield, have
received his close attention and been well and commendably filled.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, Gate of Temple Lodge No.
422, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Vincil Chapter, Royal Arch Masons;
St. John's Commandery No. 20, Knights Templar; Abou Ben Adhem Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.




EDWIN WIGGINS ELSON. Edwin W. Elson was reared on the home farm, where he
worked when a boy. He received a good education in the public schools and
Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio, after which he turned his attention
to general farming in Ohio, where he remained until 1878, getting a good
start in the meanwhile, and in that year came to Greene county, Missouri,
where his brother, William P. Elson, (a sketch of whom appears on another
page of this work) had preceded him shortly after the close of the Civil
war. Upon reaching his new locality our subject bought a farm of one
hundred and sixty acres in Boone township and was soon actively engaged in
general farming and stock raising, and, prospering with advancing years by
his close application and good management, he has added to his original
holdings until he now owns six hundred and forty acres of productive and
highly improved land, all under cultivation, constituting one of the most
valuable and desirable farms in this section of the state. He has an
attractive and commodious home in the midst of pleasing surroundings, and
nearby may also be seen a group of convenience outbuildings. He is an
excellent judge of all kinds of live stock, and is one of the best known
stockmen in the western part of the county. He makes a specialty of jacks
and Percheron horses, and at present owns seven jacks and one Percheron
registered. His annual sales will average twenty mules, and he has now
sixty mules on hand and ten brood mares. He also feeds large numbers of
hogs for the market, and each year sows a vast acreage of wheat.

Mr. Elson was married January 29, 1880, to Mary Belle Jones, who was born
in Greene county, Missouri, August 31, 1860, and here she grew to
womanhood and received her education. She was a daughter of Benjamin G. W.
and Kittura (Cossey) Jones. The father was born in Tennessee, February 26,
1822, and died in this county July 27, 1898. Mrs. Elson's mother was born
in Indiana, and also died in this county. The father was a farmer all his
life. This union was blessed with thirteen children, six of whom are still
living.

To Mr. And Mrs. Elson nine children have been born, named as follows:
Benjamin F., born February 20, 1881, is farming in Walnut Grove township,
this county; Edna Myrtle, born February 28, 1883, died when three months
old; Thomas E., born June 8, 1884; Nora, born June 12, 1886, is the wife
of William marsh, and they live in Fair Play, Missouri; Sherman, born
April 5, 1888, is farming in this township; Joshua C., born August 7,
1890; Mae, born December 2, 1893; Ruth, born August 24, 1897; and Helen,
born December 2, 1900. The younger children are at home.

Politically, Mr. Elson is a Republican and has been more or less active in
local political affairs. He has been school director in his district for
about thirty years. Religiously, the family attend the Methodist church.
Among those in whose midst he has so long resided he is held in the
highest esteem by reason of his public-spirit, his upright life and his
obliging and neighborly disposition.




WILLIAM PENN ELSON. It was nearly a half century ago that William Penn
Elson came to Boone township, Greene county, Missouri, from the old
Buckeye state and here he has resided eve r since, doing his part in the
general, change that has come 'over the face of the land,' and his labors
have benefited alike the community about Ash Grove and himself, for he had
little of this world's goods when he took up his residence on a small farm
here just after the close of the war between the states, but by close
application and honest dealings he has become one of the substantial
agriculturists of the township and owns a large and well stocked farm.

Mr. Elson was born in Stark county, Ohio, September 9, 1837, and is
therefore now getting well along in years seventy-seven in number but is
still comparatively hale and hearty, having led a careful life. He is a
son of John Harris and Osee (Wilson) Elson. The father was born in Brooks
county, West Virginia, October 14, 1806, and was a son of Capt. John
Harris and Margaret (Wiggins) Elson. Captain Elson was also born in the
last named county and state, the year of his birth being 1769. He was a.
son of Richard Elson. The latter was a native of Scotland and emigrated to
America in old colonial days, and took up a "tomahawk claim" of four
hundred acres from the government, in the Old Dominion, now a part of the
state of West Virginia, and there he spent the rest of his life engaged in
farming, clearing his land and rearing his family of four sons and three
daughters. Captain John Harris Elson was an officer in the war of 1812 and
also served in the early Indian wars with distinction. His death occurred
in 1820. The subject of this sketch is now in possession of his poll-book
and many of his papers. His widow survived until 1847. When twelve years
of age John Harris Elson, father of our subject, moved to Stark county,
Ohio, and there he engaged in farming the rest of his life, dying in 1898.
Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican. He and Osee Wilson
were married in 1833. She was born May 15, 1815. She was a woman of rare
intellectual attainments for those days and was a great reader. Her death
occurred in 1891. The parents of the subject of this sketch were excellent
types of the sturdy citizens of Ohio during the century that is past.

William P. Elson grew to manhood on the home farm where he worked when a
boy and he received good educational advantages, having attended the
common schools and later Mt. Union College at Alliance, Ohio, after which
he engaged successfully in teaching for a number of years in Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois. Later he worked at the insurance business in Illinois, and
in the town of Fidelity, that state, he clerked and acted as postmaster
for three years, then returned to Ohio, where he remained until 1866 when
he came to Greene county, Missouri, and purchased eighty acres in Boone
township, and here he has since been engaged in general farming and
stock-raising, and having prospered with advancing years, is now owner of
a fine farm containing two hundred and forty acres under cultivation and
forty acres in timber, constituting one of the choicest farms in this part
of the county. It is productive, well improved and has on it a large,
well-furnished residence and numerous substantial barns and other
buildings.

Mr. Elson was married, November 2, 1875, to Elizabeth C. Frame, who, was
born in Montgomery county, Indiana, February 13, 1860, and came to Greene
county with her father and mother, Samuel Park and Elizabeth E
(Harshburger) Frame when she was nine years of age. They settled in Center
township and were substantial citizens of the early days. Mrs. Elson
received her education in Greene county. She has proved to be an excellent
helpmeet in every respect.

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Elson, namely: Vinnie Ream,
born December 23, 1876, is the wife of F. J. Hawkins, a farmer of Boone
township; they have three children, Elson C., Carrol and Paul. John
Harris, born March 18, 1879, who is in the commissary department of the
United States army, is at present stationed at Vera Cruz, Mexico. He is
married and has one child, Vinnie. Charles H., born July 1, 1881, is
assisting with the work on the home farm; married Laona Wheelock and they
have three children, John Harris, Martha E., and Robert B. William Robert,
born December 9, 1893, lives on a farm in Boone township; married Frances
Hawkins, and they have had two children, Louise and one deceased. Richard
P., born November 13, 1887, lives in Fayetteville, Missouri; married
Jessie White and they have two children, Vera and William Penn. Archie
died at the age of nineteen in the West.

Politically, Mr. Elson is a Republican and religiously a Presbyterian.
Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Masonic order. He has been more or less active in public affairs and has
had charge of the Boone Township Republican Committee, and he once made
the race for presiding judge of the county court. He is a man of influence
in his community and no one is better or more favorably known in the
western part of this county.




WALTER P. EMERSON. One of the enterprising and deserving young men of Fair
Grove, Greene county, is Walter P. Emerson, who is filling very acceptably
the position of postmaster and is also conducting a store there. He was
formerly a resident of Springfield and has spent most of his life in this
county.

Mr. Emerson was born in Jasper county, Missouri, November 14, 1880. He is
a son of James Daniel and Sarah Ann Frances (Wheeler) Emerson. The father
was born in 1852, in Greene county, this state, spending his first years
in Franklin township, in fact, with the exception of one year spent in
Jasper county, he spent his entire life in his native county, and made
general farming his vocation, owning a good farm of one hundred and twenty
acres, all under improvement, in Jackson township, and there his death
occurred in May, 1904. Politically he was a Democrat, and while active in
the affairs of his party was never an office holder. He was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, South, at Fair Grove, in which he took
much interest, and in which he was a deacon for years. He was a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. at Fair Grove. His wife was a native
of Tennessee, and when young in years she came to Greene county, Missouri,
with her parents, James T. and Nancy A. (Andrews.) Wheeler. This was
during the period of the Civil war. The family located at Hickory Barrens,
and secured one hundred and forty acres of good land in that vicinity,
where Mr. Wheeler carried on general farming. During the war he was a
private in a Missouri regiment in the Union army, later being promoted to
corporal and was honorably discharged and mustered out as such. He saw
considerable service and had a horse shot from under him in an engagement.
He was in St. Louis at the close of the war. He enlisted on the road from
Tennessee to Missouri and his wife continued on to Greene county, where he
joined her after the war and resided the rest of his life.

Three children were born to James D. Emerson and wife, namely: Walter P.,
of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Alexander Yancy, and John Reed, who is one of
the country school teachers of this county.

Walter P. Emerson grew up on the home farm and assisted with the general
work there. He was one year old when his parents brought him from Jasper
county to Franklin township. He was educated in the district schools here,
later taking a course in the Springfield Business College, from which he
was graduated in 1902. He lived in Springfield six years, working as a
street car conductor for four years, and as a teamster for two years. He
moved to Fair Grove in March, 1908 where he has since resided. He has for
some time been conducting a small general store, and in the spring of 1914
took the civil service examination and was appointed postmaster at Fair
Grove the following July. He is discharging the duties of in a highly
acceptable manner to the department and the people. is next door to the
office. He is an honest, obliging and courteous young man, and his
appointment to this office was highly pleasing to the citizens of Fair
Grove and vicinity.

Mr. Emerson was married October 9, 1901, to Pearlie Blair, a daughter of
Thomas A. and Malinda (Sharp) Blair. To this union five children have been
born, namely: Audra Preston, James Thomas, Zelma Hazel, Elma Dazel and
Claude Elwyn.

Politically, Mr. Emerson is a Democrat. He is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World, both at Fair Grove, and
his wife is a member of the Baptist church.




ALONZO W. EMERY. Among the large numbers of conductors of the Frisco
system, none is performing his duties more faithfully or satisfactorily
than Alonzo W. Emery, who has devoted the principal part of his active
career to railroad service, for which he early in life manifested a
decided liking, and every one knows that we must like our work if we
succeed in it to any appreciable degree.

Mr. Emery was born in Brooklyn, New York, November 6, 1864. He is a son of
George D. and Maria Thresa (Van Arsdel) Emery. The father was born in New
Hampshire and the mother was a native of Summerville, New Jersey, the date
of the former's birth being December 4, 1831 while the latter was born in
October, 1840. She received a good education. The latter part of her life
was spent in Springfield, Missouri, where her death occurred March 21,
1888. George D. Emery's educational advantages were limited. He devoted
the principal part of his business career to the furniture business, and
for years maintained a store on the South Side, Springfield, to which city
he removed with his family in 1870, and on September 7, 1914, died at his
residence, having reached the advanced age of nearly eighty-three years.
His family consisted of only two children, namely: Alonzo W., of this
sketch, and Frank E.

Alonzo W. Emery was six years of age when, in 1870, he removed with his
parents from Brooklyn, New York, to Springfield, Missouri, and here he
grew to manhood and received his education in the ward and high schools.
When a boy he clerked in various stores, and in 1885 went to Colorado and
followed ranching two or three years, returning to Springfield in 1888,
and began braking on a freight train for the Kansas City, Ft. Scott &
Memphis Railroad Company, commonly known as the "Gulf road," which was
sold to the Frisco system in 1900. After working for that company a year,
he returned to the West and worked on the Oregon Short Line until 1892,
when he came back to Springfield, and went to braking again, which he
followed until 1895, when he was promoted to conductor of a freight train.
After five years of this work he was promoted, in 1900, to passenger
conductor, his, run being between Springfield and Memphis, and he still
continues on his regular run on this division.

Mr. Emery has been twice married, first, on June 15, 1890, to Marion
Cummins, in Huntington, Oregon. She was born in Wisconsin, and her death
occurred in Springfield, Missouri, in 1906. To this first union two
children were born, namely: Clifford, born December 16, 1897, and Albert,
born April 27, 1899. Mr. Emery's second marriage was consummated on March
4, 1911, his choice of a companion being Wanda Lasley, a widow, who was
born in Logan county, Ohio, November 6, 1880, and is a daughter of James
L. and Maria (Franks) McKinnon, both natives of Ohio, and the parents of
each came from New York state. Mr. McKinnon was born in 1846 and his death
occurred in Urbana, Ohio, in 1884. Mrs. McKinnon was, born in 1850 and she
is still living, making her home in Webster county Missouri. Mr. McKinnon
was an architect and builder of superior skill and won a wide reputation
in his line of endeavor in the state of Ohio. His family consisted of
three children, namely: Mrs. Nettie M. Littleton, who, resides in
Springfield, Missouri; Alva, who makes his home in Kansas, and Wanda, who
married Mr. Emery of this sketch.

Politically, Mr. Emery is a Democrat. He belongs to Division 321, Order of
Railway Conductors, and is a member of the Masonic order, including the
Knights Templar degree and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine. Religiously, he belongs to the Presbyterian church Mrs.
Emery is a member of the Christian church.





EDGAR T. EMERY. A large percent of the men in railroad service have come
from the farms. There has ever been a certain fascination in this life for
the farmer boy and while yet scarcely old enough to hold steadily the plow
handles they began dreaming and planning of a career "on the road." This
class is peculiarly fitted for railroad work, which requires men of strong
physique steady nerve and grit. One of this number is Edgar T. Emery, of
Springfield, a Frisco engineer, who has had a successful career from the
start as railroader. Mr. Emery was born on a farm in Clark county, Iowa,
October 31, 1855. He is a son of James H. and Sarah Elizabeth (Dufur)
Emery. The father was born in Ohio, October 27, 1830, and his death
occurred in Whitewater, Wisconsin, May 7, 1904. The mother of our subject
was born in Washington county, Ohio, May 4, 1834, and although past her
eightieth birthday, is hale and hearty and makes her home with the subject
of this sketch. These parents grew to maturity in their native state and
there received limited educations, and were married in Henry county,
Illinois. From there they removed to Iowa in pioneer times, making the
overland journey with an ox team, entering land from the government in
Clark county, where they established the family home by hard work and
perseverance. James H. Emery was a carpenter by trade, which he followed
in his earlier years, but later devoted his attention to farming and stock
raising. He moved back to Illinois when our subject was a small child but
did not remain there long, and in 1887 the family moved to Whitewater,
Wisconsin, where the elder Emery followed contracting and building and
where his death, occurred. Politically, he was a Republican, and
fraternally was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His
family consisted of three children, namely: Edgar T., of this sketch; Eva
L., born October 1, 1858, married a Mr. Storm and they make their home in
California; William, born March 28,1863, died April 1, 1866.

Edgar T. Emery grew to manhood on the farm in Iowa and there attended the
common schools. After leaving school he began working for the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, April i5, 1874, at Creston, Iowa, as
an "oil boy," his duties being to look after the "oil house." On September
1, 1875 he was put to firing a switch engine, on which he worked for six
months, then worked as fireman from Creston to Ottumwa. He continued in
the employ of that road as fireman until October 17, 1880, when he was
promoted to locomotive engineer on the same run which he retained until
the big strike on that road, February 27, 1888, In June, 1889, he came to
Kansas City, Missouri, and secured a position on the old Kansas City, Ft.
Scott & Memphis road, as engineer, out of that city on the Ozark division.
On June 15, 1893, he was injured in a wreck, breaking a leg, which
necessitated his giving up the road for some time. Later he took a
position running a stationary engine in the Springfield south side shops,
which position he has continued to hold since May, 1894, giving his usual
satisfactory service.

Mr. Emery was married May 4, 1880, in Creston, Iowa, to Ada Alice
Reynolds, who was born in Macon county, West Virginia, March 29, 1862,
where she grew to womanhood and attended school. She is a daughter of
Edward and Laura (Turner) Reynolds, the father dying when Mrs. Reynolds
was quite small and when she was eleven years old her mother died. They
both were natives of West Virginia. Mr. Reynolds served four years in the
Confederate army, having enlisted at Mason City, West Virginia, at about
the beginning of the war.

Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Emery, namely: Ray W., born
July 2, 1881, is a jeweler by trade and lives in Texas; the other two
children died in infancy unnamed.

Mr. Emery belongs to the Masonic Order, including the Chapter and
Commandery. He is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He
also belongs to the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias, is a member
of the Grand Lodge of the state of Missouri. Politically, he is a
Republican. His wife is a member of No. 1, White Shrine, and the Eastern
Star.

Mr. Emery has a good home on Broad street, Springfield. He often recalls
the fact that he fired engine No. 308, with Engineer John Francis, in
1879, that pulled the train on which rode General Grant when he made his
trip around the world.





EDGAR E. ENNIS. The splendid success which comes to Edgar E. Ennis,
president of the Ennis-Culler Lumber Company, of Springfield, is directly
traceable to the salient points in his character, for he started in life
practically at the bottom of the industrial ladder which he has mounted
with little aid from any source, although meeting with the usual obstacles
that confront most men of affairs who have ambition. With a mind capable
of planning he combines a will strong enough to execute his
well-formulated purposes, and his great energy, sound judgment, keen
discrimination and perseverance have resulted in the accumulation of a
handsome property.

Mr. Ennis was born in Georgetown, Delaware, August 21, 1873. He is a son
of Aaron B. M. and Maggie A. (Jefferson) Ennis. They grew to maturity in
Delaware, received good common school educations, the father also
attending college, and were married there, and established their home in
Georgetown, where Aaron B. M. Ennis engaged in the mercantile, business
about ten years. Believing that the Western frontier held better
advantages for him, he removed his family in 1878 to Nebraska and settled
ten miles from Columbus, on a farm, where he remained about five years,
and in the fall of 1883 came to Springfield, Missouri, and here
established the family home, and here he engaged in the grocery business
for a number of years and enjoyed an extensive trade. About six years ago
he went to Sheridan, Wyoming, and has since been engaged in the live stock
business and ranching near there. He has been a successful man of affairs
in whatever he has undertaken, being a 'man of energy, good judgment and
honest impulses. They are the parents of three children, namely: Argus B.,
who lives at Sheridan, Wyoming; Royal W. is a resident of Hillsboro,
Illinois and Edgar E., of this review. The death of the mother of the
above named children occurred in 1894.

Edgar E. Ennis was ten years old when he came with his parents to
Springfield and here he entered the ward schools, later attending high
school and received a good practical education, although he had to quit
school on account of trouble with his eyes. After school days he started
in as most boys of his class to earn his own way in the world. His father
had purchased a grocery store on Commercial street, and he clerked in the
same for about two years, then took a position as city salesman for the
Gulf Roller Mills, continuing in this line for about a year, then took a
position with the Bunker Bros., lumber dealers, and here gained his first
knowledge of the lumber business. He liked it and studied every phase of
it, mastering the various ins and outs of the business until, feeling
capable of managing a yard of his own, he engaged in this line of endeavor
for himself, starting, in July, 1913, the Ennis-Culler Lumber Company at
504 College street, Springfield, and this he is still conducting, being
president and manager of the firm and by his industry, foresight, prompt
and honest dealings has built up a large and growing business. The firm is
incorporated under the laws of the state of Missouri. A large, complete
and well-selected stock of various grades of lumber is carried at all
times, and the slogan of the firm is "Everything to build your home."

Mr. Ennis was married on June 11, 1896, to Laura R. Culler, a daughter of
John W. and Anna M. (Clatfeler) Culler. The father's death occurred in
Springfield in 1904, but the mother is still living in this city. The
Cullers have long been a well-known family here. Mrs. Ennis received a
good education in the local schools. Our subject and wife have three
children, all at home, namely: Florence Lorene, Ellen Lucile, and Anna
Rebecca.

Politically, Mr. Ennis is a Republican. However, he votes independently in
local elections, casting his ballot for the men whom he deems best suited
for the offices sought. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order.
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Modern Woodmen of America, also
the Travelers Protective Association, United Commercial Travelers, and the
Iowa State Traveling Men's Association. He and his wife are members of
Grace Methodist Episcopal church. She is a member of the Sorosis Club, of
which she has been president two years. This is one of the leading social
clubs of Springfield. She has made a most popular and efficient president.
She is a lady of culture and affable personality, and she and Mr. Ennis
stand well in the circle in which they move.





LOUIS P. ERNST. In treating of men and characters, the biographer
contemplates them as he finds them, and not according to conceptions of
his own. He is not supposed to entertain any favoritism, to have any likes
or dislikes, or caprices of any kind to gratify, or to not have any
special standards of excellence, "according to an exact scale" of Gunteror
Aristotle, or fall out with the life of a great subject, because "not one
of the angles of the four corners was a right one." He will not attempt to
prove himself always in the right. Where a long contact with the personage
exists, the labor of arrangement, synopsis and production becomes more
simple, and this is quite equally true as applied to those who have been
performers, whether in front of the curtain or otherwise, through the
shorter or longer years. And, yet, in the business, financial and
professional avenues, we discover "age lagging superfluously on the
state," side by side with the thrifty fruitage of actors in their spring,
or zenith-time of endeavor. While Louis P. Ernst, well-known ex-mayor of
the city of Springfield, has passed the nadir of his professional life,
yet has many years of profitable activity before him. He is a man of
thought and study and finds essential nutriment in feasting at the boards
of the legal masters of the past. Having depended a great deal upon these
authorities he has ever kept well prepared for his daily tasks. Under the
teachings of an intelligent mother he early acquired those habits of
industry and self-reliance, which, linked with upright principles, have,
uniformly characterized his manhood-life. He commands the unqualified
confidence of the people of Greene county, and deserves it. Since locating
in our midst less than a decade ago he has shown himself to be an earnest
man, and in that sense applies himself to business, an honest man in
dealings with his clients and all others, a simple man in his
tastes--simplicity emphasizing every phase of his life.

Mr. Ernst was born, July 9, 1853, in Lorain county, Ohio. He is a son of
George Ernst, who was born in the year 1801, in Hanover, Germany, where he
grew to manhood, received an excellent education and spent his earlier
years. Learning the tailor's trade when young he spent seven years as
military tailor in the German army, making officers' uniforms. He
emigrated to American in 1831, locating in Lorain county, Ohio, when that
section was a part of what was still known as the Western Reserve, and
there he spent the rest of his life, dying in 1856. He married Elizabeth
E. Ernst, (no relation), in 1821. She was born in Hesse, Germany, in 1803.
Her father, Conrad Ernst, emigrated to the United States in an early day
and settled near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Philip, Casper and Jacob Ernst,
brothers of his father, are all now deceased.

Louis P. Ernst is a fine example of a self-educated and self-made man. He
spent his boyhood in Lorain county, Ohio, and there attended the common
schools and worked hard on the farm during the summer months, later taking
a classic course in Oberlin College in that state, then entered the
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he took part of the law
course. When twenty-three years of age he began teaching school, also
practicing law in Ottawa county, Michigan, where he resided for a period
of twenty-five years, during which he became well known as an attorney and
educator, being superintendent of county schools for several years. In
fact, his first life work was teaching, having begun that work in Illinois
prior to entering Oberlin College, and although young in years, he won
quite a reputation for correct pronunciation of English words, and he was
always selected to lead the spelling bees for miles around. He has always
been known as having an exceptional memory for remembering names and
faces, never forgetting people he has met, no matter how long ago.

Mr. Ernst came to Springfield, Missouri, January 8, 1906, and at once
began the practice of law. It was not long until he took his place among
the leaders of the Greene county bar and was a familiar figure in the
local courts. He took an interest in public affairs and in 1908 was
elected mayor of Springfield, performing the duties of this important
office for two years in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself
and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents and all concerned,
doing much during that period for the general upbuilding of the city.
After his term of office had expired, having become tired of official and
professional life, Mr. Ernst purchased a half section of good land two
miles north of the village of Ebenezer, in Robberson township, this county
and engaged extensively in stock raising, although still making
Springfield his home.,

Mr. Ernst married on August 20, 1881, Minnie.E. Treloar, who was given a
good education in the schools of Ottawa county, Michigan, where she taught
successfully several years prior to her marriage, and later continued to
teach private classes for some time. She is the daughter of Samuel J. and
Martha J. (Kearney) Treloar. The father was born in Plymouth, England, in
1839, and died in Springfield, March 22, 1910. The mother was born in New
Brunswick, Ottawa, Canada, May 12, 1842, and is making her home with
subject and wife. No children have been born to the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Ernst.

Mr. Ernst became alderman in Springfield one year after coming here.
Before his term as alderman had expired he was elected mayor, although he
had lived but a short time in our midst. He did much to encourage public
improvements while in office and looked well to the city's finances, using
his influence to secure very low contracts for work for the city. He also
created a widespread sentiment toward general public improvement.

Mr. Ernst was formerly member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Politically, he is a stanch Republican and has long been active in the
affairs of his party. He and his wife are affiliated with the Second
Presbyterian church of Springfield.





SAMUEL L. ESLINGER. It is in such countries as the United States that full
swing can be given to the energies of the individual. A man may choose any
business or profession he desires, and he is limited only by competition.
He must meet the skill of others and give as good service as they or he
will not get the positions, will not attain a place in the front ranks of
the men of affairs. Such adaptation to any work or business is well shown
in the career of Samuel L. Eslinger, vice-president of the Springfield
Bakery Company. He has turned his hand to various things and proved that
there were more than one occupation which he could make successful.

Mr. Eslinger was born on June 18, 1866, at Sullivan, Sullivan county,
Indiana. He is a son of James E. Eslinger, who was born in Tennessee, from
which state he removed to Indiana when a young man, learned the
carpenter's trade and he has devoted his active life to carpentering,
contracting and building houses, bridges, etc. He is now living in
retirement in Sullivan county, Indiana, having attained the advanced age
of eighty-three years. Politically he is a Republican. He is a member of
the Christian church. He has always been a quiet, unassuming home man, one
who attends strictly to his own affairs. He married Elizabeth Allen, who
was born and reared in Kentucky. Her death occurred thirty-nine years ago,
in 1876 when she was a comparatively young woman. To these parents three
children were born, namely: Gus and. Thomas are farming in Sullivan
county, Indiana; and Samuel L. of this sketch.

William Eslinger, paternal grandfather of our subject, was a resident of
Tennessee in the early days of that state, finally removed to Sullivan
county, Indiana, where he spent the rest of his life, reaching the unusual
age of ninety-eight years. For many years he was a large planter in
Tennessee and owned many slaves. He was also interested in river commerce.

Samuel L. Eslinger grew to manhood in his native county and there he
received a common school education, also attended school in Shelby county,
Indiana. He was ten years old at the death of his mother, and soon
thereafter he went to live with his uncle, Capt. T. M. Allen, with whom he
remained until he was thirteen years old. He then came to Springfield,
Missouri, with his uncle, and here, in 1885 he entered the retail grocery
business for himself in the five hundred block on Boonville street,
renting a room there the second day he was in Springfield. Although he
started out on a very small scale, he managed well and soon had an
increasing trade and finally his quarters were outgrown and he moved a
block farther north on the same street in more commodious quarters,
occupying a store fifty by one hundred feet, and here he remained for some
twenty years, enjoying a large and lucrative business, ranking among the
leading grocers of the city. Some idea of the gain in his sales may be had
when we learn that his first day's sales in the grocery business in
Springfield amounted to only two dollars, and when he sold out in 1907 his
last day's sales totaled nearly two hundred dollars. He first entered the
bakery business in 1905, in the Springfield Bakery Company, of which he is
now vice-president and with which he has been connected for ten years
during which period he has been the principal motive force and has
assisted in making it one of the largest and most successful enterprises
of its kind in the state. He has been a large stockholder in the same all
the while. An article regarding this concern will he found on another page
of this work. Our subject is actively engaged at the company's large
plant, taking care of the shipping end of the business. He has been very
successful in a business way and owns considerable property, including a
valuable residence on North Jefferson street.

Politically, Mr. Eslinger is a Republican, and has been active in party
affairs for some time. For two years he was a member of the city council.
Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Springfield Club, and
belongs to Grace Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Eslinger was married first to Belle Lippman, a daughter of Jacob
Lippman. This union was without issue. He subsequently married Clara
Danforth, a daughter of Joseph Danforth, of Greene county, Missouri.

Leonard D. Eslinger is now twelve years of age. Our subject's present wife
was known in her maidenhood as Lula Knotts, daughter of Col. Robert
Knotts. This union has been without issue.





E. L. EVANS, M. D. The medical profession of Greene county has no abler
exponent than Dr. E. L. Evans, universally liked by all with whom he comes
in contact. His friends feel deservedly proud of his success in his
profession, for he has studied hard, worked diligently and been
self-sacrificing when there was need. He possesses excellent judgment of
men and things, well balanced by knowledge and experience. He is a
gentleman of good personal appearance and courteous address, and is
certainly entitled to mention with the representative citizens of
Springfield and Greene county.

Doctor Evans was born in Boone county, Indiana, January 2,1867. He is a
son of John and Sarah Jane (Clark) Evans. The father was a contractor and
died here on December 17, 1913; the mother is living on St. Louis street,
Springfield, Missouri. Grandfather Samuel Evans was a farmer and one of
the early settlers of Boone county, Indiana. His death occurred at the age
of eighty-four years. His wife was a Miss Wilson. The maternal
grandfather, Ezra Clark, married Harriet Hancock. They were both natives
of Ohio in which their parents were early settlers, and there Ezra Clark
and wife grew up and were married, and soon thereafter moved to Boone
county, Indiana, where they established the family home on a farm, and
were among the first settlers.

Dr. Evans of this review has two brothers and one sister living, namely:
Dr. Emery Evans, is a practicing physician in St. Louis; Dr. Harry T.
Evans is engaged in the practice of his profession in Springfield, and
Mrs. Ella Speer, also lives in Springfield.

Dr. E. L. Evans is one of those self-educated, successful, self-made men,
commonly met in America. When a boy he earned his own way, working at
various things to earn an honest dollar to assist in defraying the
expenses of an education, and when he had gone far enough in the public
schools of his native county to enable him to teach he took up that line
of endeavor and taught several terms most satisfactorily, working
meanwhile, during the summer months, on the farm or at other things until
he succeeded in obtaining his professional education. He received his
primary education in the schools of Harrison, Arkansas, where he removed
from Indiana when a boy, and later he attended the Rally Hill Academy, and
in 1892 he entered the Marion Simms Medical College in St. Louis, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1895. Soon thereafter he returned
to Harrison, Arkansas, where he began the practice of his profession, in
partnership with Dr. Kirby, and remained there eleven years, during which
he enjoyed a large and constantly growing practice, and was one of the
leading general physicians of Boone county throughout which his name was a
household word. Seeking a larger field for the exercise of his talents he
came to Springfield, Missouri, in April, 1906, and has been engaged
successfully in the general practice from that time to the present, each
succeeding year finding him further advanced and more popular than the
preceding.

Doctor Evans is a member of the Greene County Medical Society, the
Southwest Missouri Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association
and the American Medical Association. He was for some time president of
the Boone County Medical Society when he lived in Arkansas, and was also
secretary of the same for many years, resigning the office upon his
removal to Springfield. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order,
including the Chapter, Commandery and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and other
lodges. Politically, he is a Democrat, and is a member of the South Street
Christian church.

Doctor Evans was married March 19, 1897, to Nora Kirby, who was born in
Harrison, Arkansas, in September, 1876, and there grew to womanhood and
received her high school education in Harrison, Arkansas, and graduated
from Christian College at Columbia, Missouri. She is the scion of a
prominent family of that place, and is a daughter of Dr. L. and Virginia
(Crump) Kirby.

To Doctor Evans and wife the following children have been born: Virginia,
born January 11, 1898; Harry C., born March 17, 1899; Frances Irene born
June 17, 1900; Dorothy Lee, born July 11, 1902; Lenore, born July 26,
1903; Kirby, born June 23, 1909 and Ezra Levi, born January 29, 1911.




OWEN M. EVANS. There are not many Vermonters in Greene county,
notwithstanding the fact that this New England state is one of the oldest
in the American Union, and has been sending her population westward for
over a century to help build up and develop the newer sections of our
country. They have the record of being good citizens wherever they have
located, being industrious, intelligent and law-abiding, for the most
part. Owen M. Evans, chief engineer at the Springfield Wagon Works, and
one of Greene county's honored citizens, is such a man.

Mr. Evans was born in Castleton, Rutland county, Vermont, December 27,
1862. He is a son of Moses Evans, a native of Wales, the little rugged
country where all the numerous family of Evanses originated. There he grew
to manhood and from there emigrated to the United States in the fifties,
locating at once in the famous Vermont quarry district. He engaged in
prospecting and got out roofing slate for himself, owning and operating
slate quarries at Castleton. His death occurred in 1897, at the age of
sixty-five years, and he was buried at Fair Haven, Vermont. Before leaving
Wales he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a member of
the Presbyterian church, and was for many years active in church work.
Politically, he was a Republican. His wife, who was known in her
maidenhood as Jane Williams, was also a native of Wales, where she spent
her early childhood, emigrating to America when thirteen years of age, and
lived with her brother in Vermont until her marriage. Her mother died some
time before she left her native land. She was a daughter of Owen Williams
and wife. She died in 1910 at the age of seventy-two years and is buried
at Fair Haven, Vermont. To Moses and Jane Evans thirteen children were
born, named as follow: Annie married William Peck, a carpenter and
contractor at Stamford, Connecticut, where they still reside; Owen M., of
this sketch; John is engaged in farming in Pennsylvania; Laura married
William Owens and they live in New York City; Jane, widow of John
Tackebury, lives in New Rochelle, New York; William is engaged in the
grocery business in New York City; Moses is engaged in the bakery and
confectionery business in West End, New Jersey; Elizabeth has remained
single and is engaged as bookkeeper for the Bell Telephone Company at New
Rochelle, New York; Margaret, widow of Llew Perry, lives in New York City;
Katie, who lives in Florida, is a twin sister of Nellie, who married Harry
Owens, a slate operator at Poultney, Vermont; Winifred is unmarried and
makes her home at New Rochelle, New York.

The paternal grandfather of the above named children, whose name was Owen
Evans, was a native of Wales, where he spent his entire life; he was a
slate Operator, and this business has been the principal vocation of many
of his descendants.

Owen M. Evans, of this sketch, grew to manhood in his native state, and
there attended the common schools, and when twelve years of age he went to
work cutting stone, continuing for three years, then worked as a farm hand
in that community for three years, after which we find him operating pumps
and engines at the slate quarries at Castleton, subsequently working as
engineer for the Castleton Milling Company, holding this position one
year. Leaving Vermont when twenty-eight years of age, in 1890, he came to
Springfield, Missouri, and soon thereafter secured employment with the
Dunlap Construction Company, later worked for the Metropolitan Street
Railway Company, then was trimmer and lineman for the Springfield Lighting
Company. In March, 1893, he was employed by the Metropolitan Electric
Railway as chief electrician at the power house, and he held this position
until the spring of 1900, when he went with the Springfield Brewing
Company as chief engineer, leaving there in July, 1901, and began working
as night engineer for the Springfield Ice and Refrigerator Company. In
November of that year he went with the Springfield Wagon Company as chief
engineer, which position he has continued to fill to the present time
giving his usual satisfactory and faithful service. When he began with the
last named firm, steam was used throughout the plant, but Mr. Evans
devoted his spare time for years to the study of electricity and has
become a capable and thorough electrician, and, at his solicitation, the
company installed an electric power plant in 1914. In January, 1913, Mr.
Evans was promoted to the position of assistant superintendent, the duties
of which he ably discharged for a period of two years, but finding the
work too engrossing, he resigned, preferring the position of chief
engineer. He has been in the employ of the Springfield Wagon Works
thirteen years.

Mr. Evans was first married in 1886, to Annie Fox, a daughter of Henry and
Margaret Fox. Her death occurred in 1909, at the age of forty-six years.
This union was without issue: In 1911 Mr. Evans married Millie Grantham,
widow of Howard M. Grantham. This union has also been without issue.

Mr. Evans is a member of the National Association of Steam Engineers, in
which he has long been active and influential; in fact, he has the honor
of being known as the founder of this new important and widely known
association, of which he has for some time been president. He belongs to
the Masonic order, including the Knights Templars. He is also a member of
the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Woodmen of the
World, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias
Sisters, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Royal Neighbors. He is a
member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and politically is a
Republican. He is chairman of the board of stationary engineer examiners.
He was twice elected city councilman from the Sixth ward and served two
terms of four years in this capacity. He is known as the father of the
Concrete Paving Company, of Springfield. He is devoted to the work of city
progress, and he was one of the prime factors in starting the movement
that led to the paving of our streets. He has always been conservative in
the expenditure of the city's money; in fact, has done much for the
general and permanent good of Springfield in many ways, and in all the
positions of trust which he has occupied he has proven himself to be most
capable, energetic, honest and trustworthy, meriting the esteem in which
he is universally held, and he ranks with the most representative and
useful of our citizens.





RICHARD EDWARD EVERETT. Statistics show that most of our men of business
were born on the farm, and data also shows that comparatively few of those
now engaged in industrial pursuits, the trades or professions are
following the lines of endeavor in, which their fathers before them
engaged, and we also find that very few men continue in the vocation in
which they first started. It is .not best for the young man to continue at
anything for which he is not properly equipped by nature. If a boy feels
dissatisfied with farm life, continually thirsting for something
different, it is well to allow him to follow his natural tendencies. We
are not all adapted by nature for one line of work, which is a wise
provision, otherwise farming would be more largely overdone than at
present. Some of us were intended for lawyers, others for physicians,
ministers, mechanics, tradesmen, inventors. It has always been found to be
folly to try to make something out of a man whose natural bent lay in
another direction. This is the cause of so many failures in the various
walks of life. One is indeed fortunate if he determines when a boy at the
outset of his career just what work he can do best in this tread-mill
world of ours. It seems that Richard Edward Everett, president of the
Springfield Planing Mill & Lumber Company, has been well fortified by
nature for his life work and has therefore succeeded.

Mr. Everett was born November 20, 1856, in Darien, Fairfield county,
Connecticut. He is a son of William Everett, who devoted his active life
to railroad work, having for years been engaged in construction work for
the New York & New Haven Railroad Company. He was an expert
complicated-track builder. He lived in and around New York City, Brooklyn
and Long Island. He was a native of Ireland, where he spent his boyhood,
and from there immigrated to America when eighteen years of age. He worked
as teamster on the great Jacob Bell estate, which furnished Fulton Market,
New York City, with most of its produce in those early days before
railroads. Later he moved to Darien, Connecticut, and took up railroad
construction work which he followed the rest of his life, having been with
that road more than forty-seven consecutive years, his death occurring in
Connecticut in January, 1893. He was a member of the Catholic church and a
stanch member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He married Hanora de
Guidra, native of Ireland, of French descent. She lived to the advanced
age of eighty-nine years, dying at Darien, Connecticut in 1908. To these
parents the following children were born: William H., deceased, patented
the first electric block system ever used in a railroad; John B., Thomas
W., Richard E., Katherine E., Mary A., and James H. Everett.

Richard E. Everett grew to boyhood in Connecticut, and received his
education in the schools of Darien. He entered business life for himself
in 1881. He immigrated to Missouri in 1877 and for one year thereafter was
a builder at Ash Grove, Greene county, erecting the high school building
at that place, and a number of the most important business houses. For
three years thereafter he was pattern maker for the Springfield Foundry &
Machine Company, at the end of which time he embarked in his present
business and has since been a builder of prominence. Some of the first
structures of prominence in Springfield he erected were the "Gulf shops,"
public school buildings, the Board of Trade Building, the electric power
house, the water works and many of the best residences of the city. He had
served a thorough apprenticeship at his trade in his youth before he left
the East, then for one year was in the United States navy, having been
joiner on the ship Colorado.

The business of the Springfield Planing Mill & Lumber Company, which has
for many years been regarded as one of the largest of its kind in this
section of the Middle West as well as one of the most widely known, was
first established in 1868, Mr. Everett being the successor to the Chicago
Lumber Company. The business is conducted on quite an extensive scale, and
the buildings and yards covers about a half a block, the main building
being a substantial two-story brick. It is well equipped with modern
machinery and a large number of skilled mechanics and helpers are
constantly employed. The business has gradually increased with advancing
years, for the rapid growth of Springfield and nearby cities and towns of
the Southwest has called for exceptional activity on the part of the
lumber and mill work and bank and store fixtures, and Mr. Everett has
responded nobly to the demands made upon him since locating here, his
company having all the while been one of the most prominent in its line of
work and as its machinery has been kept up to the high standard of the
costliest type, the mill has been found equal to the demands made upon it.
From this mill has come a very large part of the material which has
entered into the construction of the leading private residences and
prominent and extensive business blocks which have been erected during the
past three decades or more in the Queen City of the Ozarks, as well as
other towns in this section of the state. From this plant also has come
most of the hardwood fittings for the Springfield banks, stores and other
well-known buildings. Mr. Everett besides building the old Gulf south side
shops at Springfield furnished the material and did all the building for
the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis Railroad Company, from Memphis,
Tennessee, to Birmingham, Alabama, from Amory to Aberdeen, Mississippi,
and from Ensly to Coal Camp, Alabama, and from Willow Springs to Grandon,
on the Current River Branch, and from Ash Grove to Clinton, high line.

In rotation he furnished the work for the Anheuser-Busch people, building
the ice and refrigerating plant, cold storage building; Crighton's
Provision Company; the building occupied by Armour & Company; John F.
Meyers Milling Company's model mill; St. John's Hospital; St. Paul's
Methodist Episcopal church; Classical Hall for Drury College; and others.

For the last six or eight years, the company has turned its attention more
to mill-work and fixtures, having installed in this city some of the most
complete outfits, such as those in the Dalrymple Drug Store, the Model and
Rep's Dry Goods stores, Browne Bros. Book Store, Queen City Bank, the mill
work for the new Landers building, the mahogany fixtures for the Mezzanine
and second floors of the new Her building, the fixtures for Fred Harvey in
the new Union Station in Kansas City, and various other Fred Harvey
restaurants.

In his yards Mr. Everett keeps a full line of lumber of all kinds, and his
extensive modernly equipped mill is prepared to furnish anything usually
manufactured in a planing mill, prompt and high-grade work being his aim
at all times. The plant was originally established by Knott & See, which
firm later sold out to S. W. McLaughlin, who sold it to the Chicago Lumber
Company. Mr. Everett has been connected with the concern since 1881, and
has been sole proprietor since 1892. It has been incorporated under the
laws of Missouri with a capital stock of eighty thousand dollars.

The present officers are: Richard E. Everett, president; Karl W. Everett,
vice-president and general manager; W. W. Johnson, acting secretary; I. N.
Johnson, treasurer. At this writing thirty-eight mechanics are employed.
The yards extend from Phelps avenue to the tracks of the old Gulf
railroad, thus giving the company excellent shipping facilities.

Mr. Everett was married in Springfield, in 1882, to Lizzie M. Titus, a
daughter of Joseph Titus and wife, an old family of this city. Here she
grew to womanhood and received a good education in the Springfield
schools, having been one of the youngest pupils that was ever graduated
from the high school.

Politically, Mr. Everett is a Democrat and he has long been influential in
political and public affairs here.

Beginning with 1879 he has been connected with the city fire department,
twenty-one consecutive years. He served in the capacity of chief for
twelve years and during that time the department was greatly improved
under his able supervision, it finally ranking third in perfection in
Missouri. For thirteen years he was a member of the city council from the
Third ward, serving under Mayor Ralph Walker and others. At one time he
was city marshal, and years ago he made the race for mayor but was
defeated for the nomination. He has done much for the general upbuilding
of Springfield. He is a member of the Catholic church, and fraternally
belongs to Springfield Council No. 698, Knights of Columbus, Ozark Council
No. 418, Royal Arcanum, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

That Mr. Everett is a progressive and energetic business man is seen from
the large measure of success which he has achieved in his special line of
endeavor, having started in a modest way. His reputation in all walks of
life has been unassailable and he is widely and favorably known throughout
the Ozark region.






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