Greene County Biographies


From the Pictorial and genealogical record of Greene County, Missouri : 
together with biographies of prominent men of other portions of the 
state, both living and dead. 
Chicago: Goodspeed Bros., 1893



Thomas Hart Benton
   Hon. Thomas Hart Benton is a product of Hollsborough, Orange County,
N.C., where he was born March 14, 1782.  Being left fatherless at the
age of eight years his mother sent him to a grammar school for a short
time, after which he entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, which institution he quitted without receiving a degree, after
which he commenced the study of law in William and Mary’s College,
Virginia.  Upon her removal to Tennessee the mother settled on some
land belonging to her husband’s estate, but young Thomas had no taste
for agriculture, and as he was fond of books he devoted himself to
reading in order to better prepare himself for the profession of law
which he had decided upon following.  In 1811 he began practicing at
Nashville, and there soon rose to eminence.  He was shortly elected to
the Legislature, in which he served one term, but during this time he
secured the passage of a law reforming the judicial system, and one
giving slaves the benefit of a trial by jury.  At that time Andrew
Jackson was a judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, and he became
Benton’s personal friend and patron, and during the War of 1812 he
served under this noted man as commander of a regiment of volunteers,
from which he received the title of Colonel.  The intimacy of these men
continued for some time, then was cut short by a sudden and violent
quarrel, and during Jackson’s attempt to strike Benton with a horsewhip
he was severely wounded by a pistol shot fired by the latter.  Although
they were bitter enemies for a long time, a partial reconciliation was
afterward effected, but they never again became intimate.  In 1813 Mr.
Benton was appointed by President Madison Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Thirty-ninth Infantry; but while en route to join his command in
Canada, peace was declared, and he resigned in 1815.  He then went to
St. Louis and was soon in the enjoyment of a lucrative legal practice. 
Being a man of decided opinions and aggressive temperament he entered
the field of politics and established the Missouri Inquirer, and
as he was fierce and outspoken in his denunciations, he was the
principal in many disputes, altercations and personal encounters.  At
that day the “code” was in vogue and in a duel with Mr. Lucas he killed
his opponent, an act he sincerely regretted to the day of his death. 
Mr. Benton strongly urged the admission of Missouri with a slave
constitution, through the columns of his paper, and in 1820 was elected
one of the senators from the new State.  He at once took high rank in
the national councils, for he possessed a rigorous intellect, large and
liberal culture and was studious, temperate and resolute.  He was soon
an acknowledged leader in a body which contained some of the most
eminent men of the nation.  He originated a bill granting the right of
pre-emption to actual settlers and a gradual reduction in the price of
public land in proportion to the time it had been in market, besides a
donation of homesteads to certain persons.  His speeches in this behalf
attracted the attention of the whole country, but nevertheless failed
in their effect on Congress.  His steadfast support of the
administration gave him great influence with the Democracy, and he
succeeded in inducing the President to embody the substance of a bill
in one of his messages, which secured its final adoption.  To him is
also due the credit of the opening of the saline and mineral lands of
Missouri, and he was instrumental in securing the repeal of the salt
tax in 1829-30.  He favored a railroad to the Pacific, the opening of
trade with the policy of cultivating friendly relations with the
Indians, and secured an appropriation for marking out and maintaining
post-roads, the value of which is acknowledged everywhere.  At the
expiration of the charter of the United States Bank he advocated a gold
and silver currency as the only remedy for the financial difficulties,
and made many speeches on the subject and won himself a reputation
throughout the Old World as well as his own country.  His attitude on
this question won him the sobriquet of “Old Bullion.”  He supported
President Van Buren’s financial policy and was also deeply interested
in the annexation of Texas, the boundary of Oregon and various other
important matters.  He urged a vigorous prosecution of the Mexican War,
and so great was the confidence reposed in Mr. Benton by President Polk
that he proposed to confer upon him the rank of Lieutenant-General with
full power to carry out his conceptions, but the bill was never passed.
 He opposed the compromise measures offered by Henry Clay in 1850 in
regard to the slavery question after the acquisition of Mexican
territory, and he warmly espoused the cause of President Jackson in his
opposition to Calhoun in regard to nullification, the result of which
was a bitter personal enmity which lasted throughout their lives.  He
denounced Mr. Calhoun’s resolutions in regard to the admission of
states, the territorial powers of Congress and in use of common
property, all bearing upon the slavery question, as “firebrand
resolutions.”  Although they never came before the Senate they were
adopted by some of the slave holding states and were passed by both
branches of the Missouri Legislature.  These measures he denounced as
not expressing the views of the people, as countenancing the doctrines
of secession and nullification, and refused to obey them.  He made a
direct appeal to the people by a thorough canvass of the State, and his
speeches added new lustre to his already brilliant fame as an orator. 
However, he here met his first defeat at the hands of the pro-slavery
Democracy.  The close of his term ended thirty years of service in the
national councils, and he withdrew from the Senate, of which he had so
long been an active and prominent member.  In 1852 he was elected to
Congress over all opposition and exerted himself to destroy the
influence acquired by the nullification party and supported the
administration of President Pierce, but thinking it had fallen under
the influence of Calhoun’s followers, he withdrew it; in return for
which the administration displaced all his appointments in Missouri. 
He opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and denounced the
Kansas-Nebraska bill in a remarkable speech in the House, which aroused
the country against the measure but failed to defeat its passage.  At
the election in 1854 he was defeated and retired to devote himself to
literature, but his friends prevailed upon him to accept the nomination
for Governor in 1856, but Trusten Polk was elected.  During the
Presidential contest of the same year Col. Benton supported Mr.
Buchanan in Buchanan’s ability to restore the Jacksonian Democracy
while he feared Col. Fremont’s election would endanger the Union, but
this opinion he subsequently changed from.  He resumed his literary
labors after his defeat for Governor, and completed his “Thirty Years’
View,” a comprehensive narrative of his own official experience.  At
the age of sixty-seven he began the laborious task of condensing the
debates of Congress from their commencement until 1850, and concluded
the work upon his deathbed, dictating in whispers when unable to speak
aloud.  He was a man of strong intellect, great will power, ambition,
and exerted all his energies to accomplish the success which he
eventually achieved.  He had a faculty of judging men and their motives
and he was thus enabled to exercise a controlling influence in the
councils of both nation and state, and for years his power in Missouri
was almost unlimited.  During the latter years of his life he was
actuated by a sincere desire for the welfare of his country without
regard to partisanship, and his unfaltering devotion to the Union will
ever be remembered gratefully by all who love progress and liberty.  In
the home circle he was pleasant, companionable and genial, but in
official intercourse was reserved and austere.  It was said of him in
1846 that “his action and gestures are expressive and he has that
gentle self-possession of manner which is so usual in those who are
conscious of superior strength.”  After becoming Senator he was married
to Elizabeth McDowell, a daughter of Col. James McDowell, of Rockbridge
County, Va., by whom he had four children: Mrs. William Carey Jones,
Mrs. Jessie Ann Fremont, Mrs. Sarah Jacob, and Madam Susan Boileau. 
His wife died in 1854 from a stroke of paralysis received in 1844, and
from the time of that calamity her husband was never known to go to any
place of festivity or amusement.  He died in Washington, April 10,
1858, and the entire nation mourned him.  His remains were taken to St.
Louis, and buried by the side of his wife in Bellefontaine cemetery,
and in that city a colossal statue, by Harriet Hosmer, has been erected
to his memory in Lafayette Park.



J. W. McClurg
   Hon. J.W. McClurg, ex-governor of the State of Missouri.  A man’s life
work measures his genius, and the man who devotes his powers to the
accomplishment of an upright purpose is to be honored.  If a careful
study is made of the motives which actuate every man’s life there is
always to be found some object for which he lives.  In Hon. J.W.
McClurg it seems to have been an ambition to make the best use of his
native and acquired powers and to develop in himself a true manhood.  A
native of St. Louis County, Mo., he was born February 22, 1818, a son
of Joseph and Mary (Brotherton) McClurg and grandson of Joseph McClurg,
who came to America during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.  He succeeded
in making his escape to this country by concealing himself in the hold
of a vessel, and his family soon after followed him to America.  He was
a man of much energy, and a worker in iron, and soon made his way to
Pittsburgh, Penn., where he erected the first iron foundry ever put up
in the city, and in or near Pittsburgh he passed the remainder of his
days.  Although he owned a farm, the most of his attention was given to
his foundry, and after he had retired the business was continued by his
sons.  Joseph McClurg, the father of Ex-Gov. McClurg, was born in
Northern Ireland and came with his mother to America when about twelve
years of age.  He and his brothers, Alexander and William, followed in
their father’s footsteps and became foundrymen, and while following
that business in Ohio his career was closed.  His widow died in St.
Louis, having borne him two children:  James B. (deceased) and J.W.,
the subject of this sketch.  The last named was reared in Pennsylvania,
whither he had been taken at the age of seven years, but the principal
part of his education was received in Ohio, where he remained until
about nineteen years of age.  Anticipating the advice of Horace
Greeley, for young men to “Go West and grow up with the country,” he
came to Missouri and made his home with his uncles, James and Marshall
Brotherton, both of whom filled the office of sheriff of St. Louis
County, and J.W. McClurg served as deputy under both of them for about
two years.  In the spring of 1839 he went to Texas, where he remained
for some two years, and was shortly after admitted to the bar of
Columbus, Tex.  In 1841 he was married, in Washington County, Mo., to
Miss Mary C. Johnson, a native of Virginia, and this union resulted in
the birth of eight children, six of whom are living:  Mary E., wife of
Col. M.W. Johnson, of Lebanon; Fannie, wife of C.C. Draper, also of
Lebanon; Joseph E., who is engaged in farming in Dakota; Sarah, wife of
Thomas Monroe, of Lebanon; Dr. James A., a dentist at Lebanon, and Dr.
Marshall J., also a dentist, at Carthage, Mo.  After his marriage Mr.
McClurg turned his attention to merchandising, which he carried on at
Hazlewood and Linn Creek, Mo., until the opening of the great Civil
War.  In 1861 he enlisted in the Home Guards, was chosen colonel of his
regiment, and in 1862 he became colonel of the Eighth Cavalry, Missouri
State Militia.  He was in this service until after his election to
Congress, which was in 1862, from the Fifth District.  He then resigned
his position in the army to take his seat, and was re-elected in 1864
and 1866.  Before the expiration of his last term of office he was
elected in 1868, by the Republican party as governor of the State of
Missouri and served one term of two years.  He then turned his
attention to merchandising once more, also lead-mining and
steamboating, which he carried on until 1885, at which time he came to
Laclede County, and has since been retired from business.  He is now in
his seventy-fifth year, but is still quite well preserved and bids fair
to be spared for many more years of usefulness.  It has not been alone
in politics that he has borne a conspicuous and honorable part, for to
all public enterprises calculated to advance the interests of his city
he has given the benefit of his voice and means.  He is to-day as
enterprising and energetic and as alive to the issues of the time as in
his earlier manhood, and is a man whose good judgement has never been
called into question.  He has been very prominent in the affairs of
Missouri, and has ever been a strong adherent of the Republican party. 
He and his wife, who departed this life in December, 1861, at Jefferson
City, were members of the Presbyterian Church, but he is now connected
with the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He has for some time been a
resident of the city of Springfield, Mo., and is held in high esteem by
its citizens.



Hon. Richard P. Bland
   From poverty and obscurity all the eminent men of the West have 
fought their way in the battle of life and by their own persistence and 
perseverance have attained to prominence and honor.  They have 
given permanency to every enterprise that they have honored with 
their patronage and have stamped upon them their own individuality.  
The subject of this sketch is a man well known to the people of Missouri, 
and needs no eulogy from the pen of the biographer, for his deeds are 
his monuments and will endure long after he has mouldered into dust.  
He was born near Hartford, Ohio county, Ky., August 19, 1835, his parents 
being Stouton E. and Margaret (Nall) Bland, both of whom were born on 
Blue Grass soil.  The family originally came from Virginia, but emigrated 
to Kentucky in the time of Daniel Boone, and were among the early 
settlers of that country.  The father devoted his life to the occupation of 
farming, and at the age of thirty-five, when just in the prime of life, was 
called upon to pay the last debt of nature, his widow surviving him several 
years.  Of the four children born to them three are now living:  Richard P., 
Charles C., who is judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Missouri, and 
Elizabeth, wife of Frederick Tutley, of St. Francois County, Mo.  Young 
Richard P. received his initiatory training in the public schools in the 
vicinity of his rural home, and afterward finished his education in Griffin’s 
Academy.  In 1855 he left the home of his childhood and took up his 
residence in Wayne County, Mo., after which he taught school at Patterson 
for one term, and in the fall of the same year went to California, where 
he studied law.  In 1859 he located in Virginia City, Nev., and was admitted 
to the bar by the United States Court at Carson City.  He at once opened 
an office in Virginia City, where he remained until November, 1865, when 
he returned to Missouri and located at Rolla, at which place he and his 
brother, C.C. Bland, practiced law in partnership until 1869.  He then 
came to Lebanon, Laclede County, where he practiced his profession 
until 1872, at which time he was elected to Congress, and has been re-
elected ever since, thus holding his membership for twenty years.  The 
fact of his knowing but little of a father’s guidance and support, probably 
more than anything else formed within him the spirit of self-reliance that 
has characterized him through life.  During his long years of public life he 
has placed himself securely on the list of Missouri’s statesmen, and his 
brilliant record is but the natural sequence of his brilliant mind applied in 
the right direction.  Few men have seen more of public life, and very few 
have been more useful.  He has many friends and few enemies, fewer 
enemies than any man of his decided mental nature, strong will and public 
worth, but even these can say naught against his honor.  In 1877 he 
purchased the fine farm where he now lives, consisting of 160 acres, 
and built thereon a commodious and handsome brich residence.  While 
in Utah he was elected treasurer of Carson County, which position he 
held until 1863, and at various times he was also engaged in warfare 
against the Indians.  Since his election to Congress he has given up his 
profession, although as a lawyer he was preeminently a success; well 
and deeply read, with a clear and logical mind, which has been disciplined 
and strengthened by laborious study.  The many eulogies pronounced 
upon him by the bar of the State evince the high estimation in which he 
was held by his legal brethren.  On the 19th of December, 1873, he was 
married to Miss Virginia E. Mitchell, of Rolla, Mo., by whom he has five 
children: Fannie, Theodric R., Ewing C., George V. and Margaret.  Mr. 
Bland is a Knight Templar in the A.F. & A.M.  He is a man of noble and 
generous impulses and throughout the temptations of a long public 
career he has been strictly just in all his actions, never stooping to 
intrigue himself nor permitting it in others if he could prevent it, and 
has always shown supreme indifference to the opinions of enemies, 
his sole ambition being to serve his country faithfully in his line of 
duty, in which desire he has been preeminently successful.



John O’Day
  This citizen is one of the prominent men of Southwest Missouri, 
who has not only been prominently identified with the legal 
profession for many years, but has been one of the chief 
promoters of the great railway systems which are now doing 
so much toward the development of this country.  Beginning 
the practice of law in Springfield when a very young man, 
shortly after the close of the great Civil War and when Springfield 
was but a village and much of the surrounding country a wilderness; 
at a time when the people were struggling to adjust themselves to 
new conditions and the bitterness of partisanship was evident in 
many lawsuits and the real cause of much litigation, Mr. O’Day 
gained an experience and a knowledge of the people of Missouri 
which could hardly have been gained under other conditions.  His 
practice extended throughout the entire southwest portion of the 
State, and he frequently made long journeys on horseback to 
attend court in the log house of some pioneer farmer.  Thus he 
has seen almost the entire progress and growth of Springfield 
and southwest Missouri, and has taken part as a citizen and a 
lawyer in all public events worthy of record.  Mr. O’Day was 
born in Ireland November 18, 1844, and was brought to America 
by his parents when an infant.  His father, John O’Day, Sr., 
settled in Livingston County, N.Y., but in 1868 removed with 
his family to Springfield where he remained until his death, 
which occurred at the patriarchal age of eighty-four years.  
The early advantages for acquiring an education of the subject 
of the sketch were first those of the common district school 
and afterward that of the Academy of Lima, N.Y.  At an early 
age the keenness of his intellect was shown and he made 
rapid progress in his studies.  Upon leaving school he began 
the study of  law with Judge Winsor, of Rochester, N.Y., with 
whom he completed his legal studies and with whom he came 
West as far as Juno, Wis., where Mr. O’Day remained three 
years, coming to Springfield in February, 1866.  He immediately 
hung out his shingle to notify the public that he was ready to 
defend the cause of the injured, and unlike the majority of 
attorneys, had not long to wait for clients.  He was admitted 
to the bar in Wisconsin, and the Springfield bar, was represented 
by Gov. Phelps, Col. Henry C. Young, Judge John Bryce, Judge 
John S. Waddle and C.B. McAfee, Esq., the sole surviving lawyer 
then practicing at the bar in this city, except Mr. O’Day.  The 
latter was then but twenty-two years of age, but he possessed 
unmistakable ability, and it was not long before he was esta-
blished in a large and continually growing practice.  At that time 
Springfield contained about 1,500 inhabitants.  There was no 
court-house in either Ozark or Taney Counties, and Mr. O’Day’s 
practice extended over twenty-one counties, over which wide 
range of country there were no lawyers and the attorneys of 
Springfield attended to all the legal cases.  Naturally there was 
a great deal of litigation growing out of the unsettled condition 
of the country during and immediately after the close of the 
Civil War, and there were numerous prosecutions for treason, 
murder and arson.  In the sparsely settled, rough frontier 
country, Mr. O’Day steadily made his way, and overcoming 
all difficulties by his manly, straightforward course, gained 
the confidence of the people and became a successful lawyer 
with all he could properly attend to in the way of legal work.  
He soon interested himself in the affairs of the St. Louis & San 
Francisco Railroad, of which he was appointed attorney in 1869 
in connection with Judge Baker.  He was vice-president of this 
road from 1886 to 1890, and is now one of its large stockholders.  
He was one of the promoters of the Springfield Northern Railroad, 
the Springfield Southern Railroad, the St. Louis, Wichita & Western 
Railroad, Ft. Scott, Paris & Texas Railroad, and has been president 
of all these roads.  From his long experience in building railroads 
and in their management, Mr. O’Day is one of the best informed 
railroad men in Missouri and is a thorough exponent of railroad 
law, on which he is considered an authority.  His services to south-
west Missouri in the advancement of means of transportation are 
of the greatest value, and are not exceeded in public utility.  He 
has been in active practice at the Springfield bar for a longer time 
than any other attorney, with the exception of C.B. McAfee, and 
is one of its leading members.  Socially he is a Knight Templar in 
the A.F. & A.M., and in his political views he is a stanch Democrat.  
He is a gentleman of large wealth, genial and courteous manners 
and stands deservedly high, not only for his ability at the bar, but 
for his sturdy independence and high character.



T.J. Wright
  T.J. Wright, Chief of Police of Springfield, Mo.  Never has the city 
of Springfield been under better control--more peaceable, orderly 
and quiet than it is at present, and this is without doubt owing to 
the fact that a man of intelligence, determination, energy and 
vigilance is at the head of the police force.  This man is T.J. Wright, 
who has been connected with the force since 1888 and since 1892 
has been at its head, owing to the fact that his far-seeing shrewdness 
and numerous other qualifications made him admirably fitted to fill 
the office in a most praiseworthy manner.  He is a product of Caldwell 
county, Mo., where he was born September 6, 1856, a son of Windfield 
Wright, who for many years was a substantial farmer of that county 
and who has now been dead for five years.  His widow still survives 
him and makes her home on the old farm, where their nine children 
were born, and reared to honorable manhood and womanhood, the 
eldest son having held office in his county.  The youthful days of Chief 
T.J. Wright were spent in attending school in his native county in the 
vicinity of Breckinridge, and in assisting to wield the hoe on the home 
farm, where he learned not only methodical habits, but lessons of 
industry and perseverance which have since been of material use 
to him.  He learned the plasterer’s trade in early manhood and followed
 this occupation successfully up to the time of his appointment to the 
police department, having at that time been a resident of Springfield 
four years.  He was very successful in his trade and was at one time 
the largest contractor of the kind in the city.  He has always manifested 
considerable interest in political affairs and has always supported the 
Democratic party.  He is very active and wide-awake; in fact, the 
citizens of Springfield early came to recognize that he was the right 
man in the right place in his capacity of chief of police.  He was 
appointed on the police force by Mayor Walker who saw in him an 
able man for police duty and he at once grew in popular favor with 
the citizens of the place.  In 1892 they showed their appreciation of 
his ability and the good he had accomplished by electing him by a 
handsome majority to the office of chief.  He is a member of the 
I.O.O.F. Lodge, No. 218, the K. of P. Lodge, No. 86, and has 
represented the Odd Fellow lodges of his district (consisting of nine) 
in the Grand Lodge of the State for the past four years.  Chief Wright 
was married in Springfield to Miss Lou Wilkerson, and they have a 
comfortable home at 510 West Division Street.  The police department 
of Springfield consists of ten men, four on the north side and six on 
the south, and the police headquarters are at No. 1 fire station on 
College Street.



James M. Gear
In looking through any city, there is one thing that the beholder 
cannot help noticing and that is the large quantities of brick that 
are used in its construction and it stands to reason that if such a 
beholder were asked his opinion on the subject as to what formed 
the most important factor in its growth he would reply at once, 
“brick.”  This material plays a very important part in the building 
up of any city and therefore the brickyards and companies of any 
city  must be considered as among its chiefest industries.  In 
Springfield the firm of Gear, Lloyd & Co., brick manufacturers, 
stands at the head.  Ephraim Gear, the grandfather of James M. 
Gear, was of Scotch-Irish descent and a resident of Wilmington, 
Del., for many years.  He died in Philadelphia, where he and his 
wife are buried.  They were the parents of four children; John, 
Washington, Joseph and Mary.  John Morton Gear, the eldest child, 
was born in Wilmington, August 22, 1824, and was given a common 
school education in his youth.  When young he learned the brick 
mason’s trade, and after his removal to St. Louis in 1848 at the 
age of twenty-one years, he engaged in contracting and there 
erected some of the older buildings, among which was Ashbrook’s 
Packing House.  In 1852 he went to California by way of the Isthmus 
of Panama and was a gold miner in that region for about four years.  
At the end of that time he returned to St. Louis and shortly after to 
Waterloo, Ill., where he became a brick building contractor.  In April, 
1869, he came to Springfield and in the fall of the same year settled 
here with his family and at once began a contracting business which 
he followed for many years, becoming the most prominent brick 
contractor of Springfield.  He built the Metropolitan Hotel, the Cotton 
Factory, Woolen Factory, Fairbank’s Hall, Drury College and nine of 
the buildings on the west side of the public square, also the annex 
to the court-house and many of the smaller business houses and 
residences.  Socially he was both a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and 
became a Knight Templar in the first mentioned organization.  
Politically he was a stanch Democrat throughout life and held the 
position of Justice of the Peace for one year, but resigned the office 
on account of ill health.  He and his wife were members of the Southern 
Methodist Church.  They were married June 10, 1849, her maiden 
name being Munn, a daughter of James and Eliza (Bates) Munn, the 
former of whom was born in Ohio, of Scotch parents and became a 
resident of St. Louis.  He followed the occupations of farming and 
hotel keeping and in the latter part of his life was a member of the 
police force of St. Louis, and also held the offices of Justice of the 
Peace for some time.  He died in Henry County, Mo.  To Mr. and 
Mrs. Gear five children were born:  James M., Washington J., Sarah V., 
Addie M. and Joseph C.  Mr. Gear was an honorable, intelligent and 
hard-working man and accumulated a comfortable property.  He was 
respected by all and had few, if any, enemies.  James M. Gear, his 
son, was born at Waterloo, Monroe County, Ill., April 11, 1857, and 
received a good common school education.  He learned the trade of 
a brick mason and was engaged in contracting with his father until 
the latter retired from business, after which he engaged in the 
business in company with the present firm and they have had all 
the work they can properly attend to.  They built the church of the 
Immaculate Conception in 1887, the South Street Christian Church, 
the Second Congregational Church, the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church and the First and Second Ward school houses, the Lincoln 
and Douglas school houses, the brick work of the new High School 
building and the Gulf Railroad shops, the Old Coon Tobacco works, 
Silby’s warehouse, five stories high, the Godfrey and Russell block 
on Boonville Street, the Silby & Reinhardt building on Water Street, 
the Ellenburg block on the corner of Walnut and Campbell Streets, 
the Headly block on Boonville Street and many other business 
buildings.  They are men thoroughly posted in their line of work 
and can at all times be trusted to put up a substantial and symmetrical 
building in a short space of time and at reasonable figures.  Socially 
Mr. Gear is a member of the Knights of Honor, and politically is a 
Democrat.  Although a young man he is the senior member of his 
firm and stands deservedly high for reliability and skillful workmanship.  
This firm is also engaged in the manufacture of brick and have the only 
steam brick plant in Springfield.  This plant has a capacity of 3,000,000 
brick per year and can turn out more when run at its full capacity.  Mr. 
Gear is a young man of high character, excellent business ability and 
his integrity is unimpeachable.



W.T. Chandler
  It matters little what vocation a man may select as his life occupation 
so long as it is an honorable one.  If he is an honest, upright man, 
courteous in his intercourse with his fellow-men, and possessed of 
the average amount of energy and business sagacity, he is bound to 
make his business a financial success.  Mr. Chandler possesses all the 
above-mentioned requirements, and is to-day a prosperous general 
merchant of Ash Grove.  He was born in Fitchburg, Mass., September 
19, 1849, a son of J.L. and Abbie (Kimball) Chandler, the paternal 
ancestors having come from England to this country during its early 
history, and in 1637 became residents of Connecticut and still later 
of Massachusetts, where they were known for many years.  Members 
of this family were soldiers in the Revolution, and John Chandler, the 
great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a captain in the 
Continental army.  The Chandlers have been prominent in the affairs 
of their adopted country from the very first, and the majority of them 
were men of influence and affluence.  The great-great-grandfather 
held the rank of cornet in one of the French and Indian wars, in the 
English service, and he served as captain, and later was major-general 
of Massachusetts State Militia and captain of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company of Boston.  J.L. Chandler was born in Massachusetts 
in 1820, and in that State continued to reside until he reached manhood.  
In 1853 he emigrated to St. Louis, Mo., where he followed mercantile 
pursuits until the opening of the late lamentable civil war, when he 
enlisted in the Seventh Missouri Cavalry, was elected adjutant, and 
was later promoted to lieutenant-colonel, a position which he ably 
filled until 1865, at the termination of the war.  Some of the most 
important of the battles in which he participated were Prairie Grove 
and Little Rock.  He was wounded during his service, but not seriously.  
After the war he took up his residence in Memphis, Tenn., where he 
engaged in business as a wholesale grocer and cotton factor, later 
becoming a traveling salesman, the greater part of his business being 
transacted in Texas and a few other Southern States.  He was an 
intelligent and wide-awake man of affairs, and his death, which occurred 
in February, 1880, was much regretted.  His wife died in May of the 
same year.  To them three children were born, of whom the immediate 
subject of this sketch was the eldest.  Ella is the wife of W.J. Hawkins, 
of Greene County.  Bessie married a Mr. Janes, and died in 1884 in 
Ash Grove.  Mr. Chandler was a Republican in his political views.  
Socially, he belonged to the A.F.&A.M. and the I.O.O.F., and at one 
time was collector of revenue of Memphis, Tenn.  The early life of W.T. 
Chandler was spent in Missouri, and his education was received in the 
excellent public schools of St. Louis and in the --------- University of 
that city.  He started on his business career in 1873, in Ash Grove, and 
since that time he has carried on a successful general mercantile business, 
and has gained the esteem and respect of the community at large and 
of the citizens of Ash Grove in particular.  He does an annual business 
of $20,000, the value of his stock amounting to about $15,000.  In 
addition to himself, he finds constant employment for three or four clerks, 
who have a thorough knowledge of their business and are well posted, 
accommodating and agreeable.  The establishment has a frontage of 
25 feet and a depth of 94 feet.  Mr. Chandler is a Republican in politics, 
and has always taken a deep and abiding interest in the political issues 
of the day, and especially those of his section, and has held a number 
of important offices in the town.  He is a member of the A.O.U.W., but 
aside from this does not belong to any secret organization.  He is the 
owner of considerable real estate, principally city property, and has a 
pleasant and comfortable residence in the eastern part of Ash Grove.  
Mr. Chandler was married in June, 1882, to Miss Roxie Comegys, 
daughter of William Comegys, the postmaster at Ash Grove.  She 
was born in Indiana and has borne her husband four children:  
Triece K., Almira, Courtney and John L.  The children are bright 
and intelligent, and the eldest is now attending school.



M. Scharff & Bro.
  The subject of this sketch comes of a thrifty, industrious and fore-
handed Hebrew family, well known in Bavaria where the father of 
the subject of this sketch, Simon Scharff, was a broker of prominence, 
but is now a retired citizen of the town in which his operations were 
conducted so successfully--Landan.  He was married to Barbara Gall, 
and in time a family of six children gathered about their board:  Bertha, 
Edward, Nathan, Max, Theodore, and Isadore, all of whom were born 
in the village of Essengen, three miles from Landan, to which latter 
place the family moved in 1861.  The children were reared in that place, 
which consisted of 12,000 inhabitants, and there they were given excellent 
educational advantages and fitted in other ways for the practical duties of 
life.  The father of these children is living at the age of 75 years, is in 
good circumstances and is highly regarded in the community in which 
he lives, for he is of a genial and kindly disposition, affable and cordial 
to all.  He is proud of having reared a respectable, intelligent and well-
to-do family of children, three of whom are residents of America: Max, 
Theodore and Isadore.  The two first mentioned are successful business 
men of Springfield, but are also connected with interests in St. Louis, 
and are wide awake, pushing and intelligent men of affairs.  Isadore is 
a professor of music, and is the principal and proprietor of a Conservatory 
of Music in the city of New York, and takes a high rank in his profession.  
Theodore Scharff, a member of the firm of M. Scharff & Bro., remained 
in his native land until 1881, then came to America, and in company with 
his brother, Max, who had come to this country in 1872, he engaged in 
the general mercantile business at St. Joseph, La., but three months 
later they were unfortunately burned out, after which, with characteristic 
energy, they took charge of four stores belonging to the large cotton 
firm of V. and A. Meyer & Co., of New Orleans.  One of these stores 
was located on Cora plantation, one on Anandale plantation, one on 
Doreville plantation, and the fourth and last on Araby plantation.  For 
ten years the brothers managed those stores successfully, and during 
this time accumulated sufficient means to enable them to engage in a 
wholesale liquor business at Springfield, Mo., in 1891, but they soon 
discovered that there was not enough business to be done in Springfield 
to maintain a wholesale house, they converted their business into a 
retail trade, principally, although they still do a small wholesale trade 
also.  They are connected with the large wholesale liquor firm of 
L. & A. Scharff, of St. Louis, cousins of the subjects of this sketch.  
M. Scharff, of St. Louis, is manager of the Cheltenham Mercantile Co., 
of which the brothers became proprietors six months since.  Like the 
majority of their countrymen the brothers have prospered in business, 
and carry a large and select stock of imported and domestic wines 
and liquors of all kinds, for family and general use.  These gentlemen 
belong to that class of citizens who manifest a decided aptitude for 
business enterprise, and who rise in a few years from a position of 
poverty and obscurity to one of prominence, and possession of 
considerable wealth.  They have made many friends during their 
residence in Springfield, and are considered wide-awake and honorable 
men, anxious to serve their patrons in an acceptable manner, and 
keep a creditable and quiet house, which is patronized by the elite 
of the city.  Theodore Scharff is a member of the A.F.&A.M., the 
I.O.O.F., and politically is a Democrat.



J. S. Atkinson
   Among the reputable men of Springfield who in their conduct of 
business matters and the duties belonging to the various relations 
of life have acquired a worthy name, we may well mention Mr. 
Atkinson, who has been a resident of this city for at least ten years.  
A man of superior intelligence and rare business ability and efficiency 
he has done not a little to advance the reputation the county enjoys 
as a commercial center.  He is the present manager of the Springfield 
White Lime Works and this calling to which he devotes his attention 
suits him admirably for his efforts have been crowned with success.  
The limestone that Mr. Atkinson makes a specialty of has been tested 
by some of the leading chemists and found to yield as follows: -- 
Silica 0.33 per cent, Oxide of Iron 0.21 per cent, and Carbonate of 
Lime 99.46 per cent, and pronounced the purest limestone ever 
analyzed.  The Springfield White Lime Company has been in existence 
since 1884 when it was established by James H. Smith of Springfield.  
In October of that year the concern was incorporated under the law of 
Missouri, with James H. Smith president, J.G. Schermerhorn vice-
president and J.S. Atkinson secretary and treasurer.  On the 4th of 
March 1885, Mr. Atkinson bought Mr. Schermerhorn’s interest after 
which Mr. Smith was elected president, M.M. Atkinson vice-president 
and J.S. Atkinson secretary and treasurer.  Thus thr firm continued 
until February 8, 1892, when J. S. Atkinson was elected president and 
treasurer, James H. Smith vice-president and M. M. Atkinson secretary.  
On the 6th of March, 1893, J.S. Atkinson was made president and 
treasurer, J.E. Atkinson vice-president and M.M. Atkinson secretary.  
Thus the firm stands at the present time.  This large industry was 
established with a capital stock of $18, 000 and is now doing an 
annual business of $50,000.  About twenty hands are employed, 
four kilns are kept going, and it has a capacity of 1,000 bushels per 
day.  His business has always been on a paying basis and he has 
one of the largest plants in this section of the country.  The firm ships 
to Kansas City, St. Joseph, Denver and to a large number of points 
in Kansas and other States.  The lime is of perfectly pure nature, 
being made of a shelly formation of limestone, and is of very superior 
strength.  The quarries are located at the crossing of the Frisco and 
Gulf Railroads on East Phelps Avenue, Springfield, and there is a large 
supply of the limestone which extends from 150 to 200 feet deep and 
extends for one half mile on the top of the hill near the plant.  
M. Atkinson, the general manager, was originally from the Keystone 
State where he grew to manhood and received his education.  He is 
a son of E.S. Atkinson, who still resides in Pennsylvania.  When twenty-
one years of age Mr. Atkinson turned his face toward the setting sun 
and located in Kansas where he followed merchandising.  Later he 
resided in Ft. Smith, Ark., and after this for eighteen years was in 
Indian Territory where he followed merchandising.  After coming to 
Springfield he was engaged in the real estate business for about a 
year and then embarked in his present industry.  His business 
qualifications are of the highest order, and he is recognized as one 
of the best citizens of the city.  In his political views he leans to the 
Republican party and gives that the weight of his influence and vote.  
In 1887 and ‘88 he was elected mayor of Springfield and was well 
liked as a public official.  He has been a member of the city council 
two or three times, is of a social, genial disposition, and has a large 
share of those traits of character to go to make up the popular citizen.  
He was chairman of the County Republican Committee one year.  In 
1859 he became a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Mound City Lodge 
No. 33, and is also a member of the Knights of Honor.  While a resident 
of Kansas he was married to Miss Maria Manington, a native of New York 
State and five children were born to this union, three of whom are living:  
John E., Ruth S. and Ethel M.  The son is in a hardware store in Springfield 
and the daughters are attending Drury College.  Mr. Atkinson has a 
pleasant home at 1251 Benton Avenue, near Drury College, and is 
surrounded with all the comforts of life.  He and family attend the 
Presbyterian Church of which they are all members, and contribute 
liberally to its support.



George E. Anderson
   The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is a young man 
full of enterprise and push and is recognized as among the leading 
business men of Springfield.  He has been a resident of the place 
since August 31, 1890, but has been connected with the business 
interests of the city since 1883.  He first engaged in the manu-
facture of lumber in 1883 in a town known as Sargent, Texas 
County, Mo.; his plant turning out from 12,000 to 15,000 feet 
of lumber per day, but he removed his business from that place 
to Shannon County in 1885 and increased the capacity of his 
plant from 20,000 to 25,000 feet per day.  The name of the firm 
that owned the plant was Anderson & Son, George E. Anderson’s 
father being at the head of the concern.  He remained in that 
county from 1885 to 1888, then purchased 21,000 acres of pine 
land and moved his plant to McDonald County and closed out 
their wholesale business in January, 1892.  In 1891 they leased 
a planing-mill near Springfield and did a wholesale business for 
some time, amounting to about one half million dollars a year, 
which was one of the largest businesses of that kind done in the 
State of Missouri.  All this time they conducted a mercantile busi-
ness also, and carried a general line of goods valued at about 
$7,000.  Since about August 19, 1892, George E. has carried on 
a retail lumber business, and in this, as in other occupations in 
which he has been engaged, he has been remarkably successful.  
The father, John S. Anderson, was born in White County, Ill., 
March 28, 1834, a son of John and Nancy (Trapp) Anderson, the 
grandfather being of Scotch descent but a native of Kentucky.  
John S. Anderson was a volunteer in the first Illinois Cavalry, in 
which he served for about four years, at the end of which time 
he enlisted in Fourteenth Illinois Infantry., Company I, of which 
he became first lieutenant.  He was captured on Gen. Stoneman’s 
raid and was kept in captivity for some time.  He was wounded 
once while in the service but on the whole was exceptionally 
fortunate in this respect while in the service, and also suffered 
little from sickness, being at all times ready for duty.  In 1867 
he and a brother went to southeast Kansas, where they esta-
blished a saw-mill, but also farmed one year, after which he 
purchased a large flouring-mill.  In 1877 he closed this out 
and in 1883 he and his son closed this business and began 
dealing in lumber, as above stated.  He was married twice, 
his first wife being Mary J. Wrenwick, who was born in White 
County, Ill., a daughter of James and Nancy (Galt) Wrenwick, 
who were born in Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively.  
When the subject of this sketch was a mere lad his mother 
died, he being the eldest of the three children she bore her 
husband.  The other two are Eliza, widow of A.B. Chapman, 
who died in 1881, and Anna, who is living in Kansas, married 
to J.M. Holt.  After the death of his first wife Mr. Anderson 
married again in 1870, Rachel E. Wrenwick, her sister, and 
to them nine children have been born: Albert, Francis, Cora, 
Roy, Terry, Clifford, Claud, Bertha and one that died young.  
John S. Anderson was a member of the A.F. & A.M. and the 
Albert Anderson Post of the G.A.R., which was named in 
honor of his younger brother who died in that foul pen, 
Andersonville Prison.  He was interested in the political 
affairs of his day, was a strong Republican and died on 
December 21, 1891.  He was a man of sound judgment, 
of excellent business qualities, and his successful career 
in the business world was but a natural sequence of the 
mature judgment he at all times displayed.  George E. 
Anderson was born in White County, Ill., August 10, 1856, 
but upon the death of his mother, which occurred when he 
was about four years old, he was taken by her parents with 
whom he made his home until February, 1868, when he went 
to Montana, Kan., where he attended school and learned the 
trade of an engineer, which he followed in that State for 
sixteen years.  He left school at the age of nineteen years, 
but being bright and intelligent and keenly alive to his own 
interests, he made the most of his opportunities and obtained 
a thoroughly practical education.  Later he became connected 
with his father in the saw-mill business and this has received 
a considerable portion of his attention up to the present time.  
His business succeeded the Home Lumber Company, and he 
has since been a prominent figure in the lumber interests of 
the Southwest, ranking among the representative men en-
gaged in that line of trade.  His yards are located on the 
corner of Boonville and Pine Streets, and although located 
in the very heart of the city, is dotted by towering oak and 
sturdy hickory trees, whose delightful shade renders manual 
labor by no means a hardship.  His yard is one of the most 
complete and finely stocked in this section of the country 
and from it comes a large part of the lumber used in the 
city, while large shipments are made to other points.  His 
office at No. 709 Boonville Street is handsomely and con-
veniently furnished and is provided with a fine safe and 
other essential office fixtures.  He gives employment to 
quite a number of men and has his own teams which are 
kept constantly busy.  He is a member of the A.F. & A.M., 
in which he has attained high rank, and is a member of 
Ararat Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Kansas City.  Politi-
cally he has always been a Republican, and socially a 
public-spirited man.  He was married August 20, 1890, 
to Miss Emma Morley, of Eureka Springs, Kan., and to 
their union a little daughter has been given.  They own 
and occupy a pleasant and comfortable residence at 
No. 899 East Walnut street, Springfield, where it is their 
delight to welcome their numerous friends.  Mr. Anderson 
is a man full of enterprise and push and is deservedly 
classed among the leading business men of the place.



Col. Homer F. Fellows
   In these days of money-making, when life is a constant 
struggle between right and wrong, it is a pleasure to lay 
before an intelligent reader the unsullied record of an 
honorable man.  To the youthful it will be a useful lesson--an 
incentive to honest industry.  Col. Homer F. Fellows is 
acknowledged by all to be one of Springfield’s most public-
spirited and honorable citizens.  He has been largely 
identified with the public enterprises of that city, is a 
promoter of its improvements and the real founder of 
one of the largest mechanical industries in this part of 
the State.  He springs from old Colonial stock, and is 
of English-Puritan extraction, two brothers of that name, 
John and Drane having emigrated from England in old 
Colonial times.  John Fellows, grandfather of our subject, 
was born in the town of Canaan, Conn., where his 
ancestors had settled, and served in the Revolutionary 
War, fighting bravely for independence.  His wife, whose 
maiden name was Edna Deibold, was a native of Canaan, 
and came of French extraction.  After marriage this worthy 
couple moved to Luzerne County, Penn., and settling on 
a farm went actively to work to make many improvements 
in their new home.  Indians were very plentiful at that time.  
About 1820 Mr. Fellows moved with his family to Tioga County, 
Penn., and there passed the remainder of his days, dying at 
the good old age of eighty-three years.  He reared a family 
of six children:  Horace, Asahel, Erastus, Merritt, Eliza and 
Hulda.  As a man of intelligence and as one of the first citizens 
of his town he was well known and held in the highest esteem.  
His son, Erastus, father of our subject, was also a native of 
the old town of Canaan, Conn., and was but a boy when he 
went with his parents to Luzerne County.  He obtained a fair 
education for his day, and when a young man went to 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained one year.  Returning 
to the Keystone State he married a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Johnson, nee Cole.  Her father, Royal Cole, was born in 
New York State, but was of English extraction.  He served 
as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, took an active part 
in several battles, Trenton and others, and was present at 
the surrender of Burgoyne.  He also served in the War of 
1812.  Mr. Cole was a well-informed man, a wide reader, 
and a Universalist in his religious belief.  To his marriage 
was born a large family.  His death occurred at Wellsborough.  
Following his marriage Erastus Fellows and wife settled at 
Wellsborough, Penn., where, in connection with farming, he 
followed hotel keeping.  From 1825 until 1865, he was pro-
prietor of the Fellow’s Temperance House, and was known 
far and wide as a man of sterling worth and high moral 
character.  He was one of the early promoters of the cause 
of temperance, and accomplished much good by his deter-
mined stand.  He was also a strong Abolitionist, a lover of 
liberty, and his house was the refuge of slaves escaping to 
Canada.  He was ever fearless in the advocacy of any cause 
he believed to be right, and did not hesitate to express his 
views when it was necessary.  The famous James G. Burney, 
at one time candidate for the presidency on the Abolitionist 
ticket, when lecturing in Pennsylvania, came to Wellsborough, 
but could find no place in which to deliver his lecture, as the 
Abolition cause was very unpopular.  Mr. Fellows gave him 
the use of his dining-room, and there his lecture was delivered.  
In his political views Mr. Fellows was at one time an Old Line 
Whig, later an Abolitionist, and finally a stanch Republican.  
During the latter part of his days he became a prosperous 
and wealthy man.  His death occurred in 1884, when eighty-
four years of age.  His wife was a lady of education for her 
day, and an old teacher’s certificate bearing date as early 
as 1813, and issued to her by the directors of the district at 
Coeymans, Albany County, N.Y., attesting her ability to teach 
school, is yet in existence.  Throughout her life she took an 
interest in literary matters, was a great reader, and was a 
poetess of no mean ability, writing many poems, some of 
which were published.  She was a devout member of the 
Methodist Church, a woman of high moral worth, and a 
great strength of character.  By her first husband she was 
the mother of two children, Newton and Almira, and her 
second union resulted in the birth of four children:  Rachel A., 
Homer F., Norris W. and Mary E., all now living except the 
last named.  Mr. And Mrs. Fellows passed all the days of 
their married life at Wellsborough, Penn.  Col. Homer F. 
Fellows, son of the above and our subject, was born at 
Wellsborough, Penn., and his youthful days were divided 
between assisting his father on the farm and in attending 
the common schools.  At the age of seventeen he began 
clerking in a dry-goods store in Wellsborough, and this 
business continued for about a year and a half.  He then 
taught a district school, and later entered the Wesleyan 
University at Lima, N.Y., where he continued for one year.  
At the age of twenty-one, having acquired a good education 
for his day, he emigrated West with the intention of going to 
Texas.  On reaching Rock Island, Ill., he was taken sick, 
and this interfered with his plans.  However, he went on 
as far as Muscatine, Iowa, remaining there for some time, 
but later went to Burlington, that State, where he engaged 
as salesman for a mercantile firm, Gear & Baum.  Sub-
sequently he became a collector for Mr. Baum, and after-
ward managed a store for him at Chariton, Iowa, for a 
year and a half.  Following this he managed a general 
store for David Waynick for some time, and one for 
Joseph Mitchell, by whom he was sent East to purchase 
the stock.  In the year 1856 he went to Plattsburgh, Mo., 
as a member of the firm of J.S. Sheller & Co., in the real 
estate business, and one year later he bought out the 
business and established offices at Warsaw and Springfield, 
Mo., under the firm name of Fellows, Todd & Robinson.  
This was in 1857, and the firm located many land warrants 
in the Platt Purchase an in southwest Missouri.  Being a 
stanch Republican and possessing first-class qualities for 
the position, Mr. Fellows was appointed Register of Lands 
for the district of Springfield by President Lincoln in May, 
1861.  He continued in this office until the battle of Wilson 
Creek.  In 1861 he visited Washington on military business 
in the interests of Gen. Seigel, and made the personal 
acquaintance of President Lincoln.  Springfield then being 
occupied by the Confederates, the Union men remained 
away from the city, and Mr. Fellows engaged in general 
merchandising at Rolla, Mo., as a member of the firm 
McElhaney, Jaggard & Co.  In 1863 he was appointed 
Lieutenant Colonel of the Forty-sixth Missouri Militia.  
The regiment was called out under Gen. McNeil, mus-
tered into the United States service, and was on guard 
duty during the last invasion of Missouri by the Confed-
erates under Gen. Price.  In the winter of 1864 Mr. Fellows 
sold out his interests in Rolla and engaged in the whole-
sale grocery business at St. Louis, the firm being McElhaney 
& Fellows.  Continuing in this business until 1867 he then 
sold out and went to Arlington, where he established a 
general store under the firm name of Fellows, McGinty 
& Co.  Arlington is on the S.F.R.R., and as the road was 
then being opened for business, Col. Fellows established 
stores at convenient points on the same, one being at 
Lebanon, and another at North Springfield.  This business 
was largely wholesale.  In 1871 Col. Fellows built a grain 
elevator, the first one erected in Springfield, and in 1872 
he was induced to take charge of the Springfield Manu-
facturing Company, which had been organized but a few 
months, and which was in bad condition financially.  
Finding the concern hopelessly involved the stockholders 
surrendered their stock and a new company was organized 
as the Springfield Wagon Company.  The principal stock-
holders were Col. Fellows, his brother, Morris W., and Capt. 
Boyden.  New capital being invested, the company made the 
manufacturing of farm wagons a speciality, and from the 
start did a good business.  In 1883 the plant was destroyed 
by fire but was rebuilt after one year, and the capital stock 
was increased from $25,000 to $50,000.  One year later it 
was increased to $75,000.  The plant was greatly enlarged 
and the business increased, so that the demand has since 
been equal to the capacity of the works.  This year (1893), 
about 3,500 wagons will be manufactured.  The reputation 
of the Springfield wagon for utility and service has steadily 
gained, so that it now commands the highest price in south-
west Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.  Its equal is not manu-
factured by any firm in the United States, and it comes in 
competition with all other wagons manufactured in this 
country, and ranks as the best.  The Springfield Wagon 
Company gives employment to seventy-five men, and as 
an industrial enterprise, employing labor, is a direct benefit 
to the city.  As a public-spirited citizen, Col. Fellows has done 
much to further the interests of the city, and in 1881 he was 
the chief promoter of a street railway between North and 
South Springfield, and was president of the company for 
three years.  In 1859 he was one of the stockholders of 
the first telegraph line through Springfield.  This line followed 
the overland stage road, and was established by Clowrey & 
Stebbens.  Col. Fellows built the first telephone line that 
came into Springfield, and it connected his office and resi-
dence.  This was in 1877.  The colonel was a liberal contri-
butor to the Gulf Railroad, and is a subscriber to the railroad 
now projected.  He was one of the organizers of the Springfield 
Water Works, and president of the company for three years.  
Originally a Republican in politics, in 1860 he was the only 
man in Springfield who openly voted that ticket, excepting 
John M. Richardson, a presidential elector.  He now enter-
tains liberal views politically.  In the year 1876 he was mayor 
of Springfield, and for many years was a member of the city 
council and school board.  He has ever extended a helping hand 
to the cause of education, and has done much to establish good 
schools in Springfield.  Liberal in his views and progressive in his 
ideas, Col. Fellows has always assisted with his means the churches 
of the city without regard to denomination.  Formerly a member of 
both the Masonic and Odd Fellow orders, he is now a member of the 
Knights of Honor.  He selected as his companion in life Miss Martha 
Alvira McElhaney, of Springfield, and their nuptials were celebrated 
November 15, 1859.  Three living children have blessed this union: 
Emma, widow of Charles T. Keet, resides in Springfield; Clara, wife 
of F. J. Curran, also resides in Springfield; and Ada, widow of George 
Rathbun, makes her home in Springfield.  Mrs. Fellows was called 
from the scenes of this life on October 5, 1869, and on August 15, 1872, 
the colonel was married to Miss Minnie L. Boyden, of Neosho.  One son, 
Homer F., was born to this marriage, and he is now in the office of the 
"Frisco" Railroad in St. Louis.  Mrs. Fellows died September 24, 1881, 
and the colonel has since married Mrs. Matilda (Dickard) Jackson, widow 
of Mr. J. C. Jackson.



Hugh M. Simcox
   The intelligence and ability shown by Mr. Simcox, as a progressive tiller 
of the soil, and the interest he has taken in the advancement of measures 
for the good of Greene County, Mo., caused him long since to be classed 
as one of the leading citizens of his section.  All that he has achieved or 
gained has come as the result of his own efforts, and he deserves much 
credit for the determined way in which he faced and overcame many diffi-
culties.  His ancestors came from Ireland, and his great grandfather settled 
in Washington County, Maryland, where they resided for several generations.  
There William Simcox, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
June 14, 1794, and from there he enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812.  
In 1820 he was married to Jane Marshall of Venango County, Penn., who 
was born on the 14th of February, 1804.  Her father, Hugh Marshall, was a 
Scotchman and in Hugh M. Simcox is imbued many of the sterling qualities 
of the Scotch and Irish.  To William and Mrs. Simcox the following children 
were born:  Ellen, born November 6, 1821; Nancy, born February 23, 1826; 
Martha, born March 11, 1823; Mary, born October 28, 1824; William, born 
March 14, 1830; James, born February 29, 1832; Jane, born June 26, 1834; 
Philetus, born February 18, 1836; John L., born October 12, 1838; Hugh M., 
born May 22, 1841; and Lester, born December 23, 1844.  Mr. Simcox was 
a substantial and wealthy farmer, and lived in Venango County from the time 
of his marriage until his death.  He was an old time landlord and kept an old 
fashioned tavern were accomodations were furnished to man and beast in 
the old fashioned style, and "mine host" and his inn became known for 100 
miles around and were decidely popular with the traveling public of that time.  
The cattle drovers made it their stopping place on their way from Ohio with 
their great herds of cattle, and the early Western emigrant here rested on 
his journey.  Mr. Simcox was a Democrat in politics, and was all his life an 
honored and respected citizen.  He assisted his children a great deal and at 
his death owned 300 acres of good land.  He had two sons in the Civil War; 
John, who served throughout the war, and Hugh M., the subject of this sketch.  
Mr. Simcox died September 5, 1850, his wife, Jane, dying June 12, 1860.  
Hugh M. Simcox first saw the light in Venango County, Pennsylvania, 
May 22, 1841, and there he received a common school education and l
earned the calling of a farmer when young.  At the age of twenty, on the 
17th of July, 1861, he enlisted in Company K., Sixth Regiment of Cavalry 
of the United States Army, with which he served for three years, being 
honorably discharged at Cold Harbor, Va., July 17, 1864, with "excellent" 
written in the blank for character on his discharge.  He was in the battles 
of Williamsburg, Va., May 4-5, 1862; Slaterville, Va., May 9, 1862; 
Mechanicsville, Va., May 23, 1862; Hanover Court House, Va., May 27, 1862; 
Black Creek, Va., June 29, 1862; Malvern Hill, Va., August 6, 1862; Fall's 
Church, Va., September 5, 1862; Sugar Loaf Mountain, September 13, 1862; 
Charleston, Va., October 7, 1862; Hillsboro, Va., October 27, 1862; Philomont, 
November 1, 1862; Uniontown, November 2, 1862; Upperville, November 3, 1862; 
Barbour's Cross Roads, November 5, 1862; Amosville, November 7, 1862; 
Sulphur Springs, Nov. 15, 1862; Fredericks, December 13, 1862; Stoneman's 
Raid, April, 1863; Beverly Ford, June 9, Middlebury, June 18, Upperville, 
June 21, Fairfield, Pa., July 3, Williamsport, Md., July 6, Funkstown, Md., 
July 7, Boonsboro, Md., July 8, Antietam, Md., July 9, and Brandy Station, 
Va., Oct. 11, 1863.  Here the record of this patriotic and faithful soldier 
ceases for he has no record of the other many engagements in which he 
participated.  He was then under Gen. Grant and was in the famous Wilder-
ness campaign.  During his career as a votary of Mars Mr. Simcox served 
under Gens. Stoneman, Pleasanton and under Gen. Sheridan from the time 
he took command of the cavalry until his term of service expired.  He was 
an Orderly on Gen. Sheridan's staff for one year and saw that famous cavalry-
man almost every day.  Although he was in numerous engagements he was 
never wounded, but on numerous occasions men were mowed down around 
him.  He was always ready for active duty and did not receive a furlough or 
pass during the three years that he was in the service of his country and was 
never ill enough to go to the hospital.  After his discharge he went to Kentucky, 
in 1864, as an oil prospector where he remained until 1866, the following year 
being spent as a farmer of rented land in Iowa.  He then came to Springfield, 
Mo., and soon after settled on 240 acres of land in East Center Township, which 
adjoined his present farm on the north.  During the fifteen years that he resided 
on this place he made many valuable improvements in the way of farm buildings, 
fences, etc., and then disposed of it to a good advantage and in 1890 purchased 
the farm of 160 acres on which he is now living.  By industry and thrift he has 
prospered and he now has an abundance of this world's goods, in the accum-
ulation of which his amiable and intelligent wife has lent no inconsiderable aid.  
He has always been a hard worker, the life of the farmer has always been 
congenial to his tastes, and he found it no hardship after the close of the war, 
to take up the peaceful pursuit of agriculture.  He has always been a Democrat 
in politics, and his wife, whom he married October 15, 1868, is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church.  Her maiden name was Sarah A. Dale and she was 
born in Clarion County, Pa., on her father's farm, October 23, 1848, and has borne 
her husband one daughter, Ada L., who is the wife of Dr. Greenberry Dorrell, a 
successful physician of Republic, Mo.  Mrs. Simcox is a daughter of Solomon and 
Catherine (Zink) Dale, the former of whom is descended from Dutch ancestors 
who settled in Clarion County, Pa., where they became wealthy farmers.  
Solomon Dale and his wife were the parents of ten children:  Margaret E., 
Isaiah K., Mary M., Sarah A., Edith, Harris K., Emma L., Katy L., Cora C., 
and Monroe W.  Mr. ------ removed to Greene County, Mo., in 1867 and there 
he was called from life, his widow, who still survives him, being of Welsh 
descent.  They were earnest members of the Methodist Church and Mr. Dale 
was highly honored by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance.



F. M. Donnell
   The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is a well known citizen of 
Greene County, Mo., whose intelligence, enterprise and energy, with many 
other estimable qualities have secured for him a popularity not derived from 
any factitious circumstances, but a permanent and spontaneous tribute to his 
merit.  He is a native of the county in which he now resides, his birth occurring 
September 22, 1847, a son of John M. and Jane (McLain) Donnell, the former 
of whom was born in Tennessee in 1800, becoming a citizen of Greene County, 
Mo., in 1832.  In his veins flowed sterling Scotch-Irish blood, and for some time 
after the family had taken shelter under the "stars and stripes" the name was 
known as O'Donnell.  The paternal great-grandfather was one of the brave 
men who fought for home and liberty during the Revolution, and his son, the 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, showed his love of his country and 
his patriotism by service in the War of 1812.  John M. and Jane Donnell were 
among the first to locate in Greene County, Mo., coming thither from Tennessee 
by wagon, and settling on a farm in the northern part of the county.  They 
purchased a tract of good farming land, but Mr. Donnell continued to add to 
his acreage until he became a large land holder.  He gave much attention to 
trading in mules, shipping them South, and in this branch of business he was 
very successful.  He was a member of the A.F. & A.M., and was Master of 
Solomon Lodge for some time in its early history.  He was well known through-
out the county, and was much respected by all, having many warm friends.  
His wife, who was also born in Tennessee, died in 1848 after having become 
the mother of ten children, seven of whom are still living:  Monroe, who was 
a farmer of Texas, and a man of family; Mary A., who died in 1868, was the 
wife of David Kepply of this county, and left four children; George W. is a 
man of family, and is a farmer in the northern part of Greene County; 
William M. is married, and a farmer of Saline County, Mo.; Sarah C. is 
the wife of James Armstrong, of Polk County, Mo., and has four children; 
C.W. is a mechanic of Saline County, is married and has a family; he was 
a soldier in the Confederate Army during the civil war, and served four 
years with General Lee, taking part in many important battles; and F. M., 
the subject of this sketch.  Upon the death of his first wife Mr. Donnell was 
married for the second time.  The mother of F. M. Donnell was a noble 
woman and an earnest christian, and for many years of her useful and 
well spent life was connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  
She was about fifty-five years old at the time of her death, and came of 
an excellent and well known family of Tennessee.  F. M. Donnell was reared 
on the farm of his father some fourteen miles north of Springfield, and his 
early training was received on his father's farm, and his education in the 
district schools.  He gave his father his time and services until the opening 
of the Civil War, and when only sixteen years of age he entered the service, 
enlisting in Company E, Sixteenth Missouri Cavalry, under Capt. S. W. Headley, 
with whom he remained for two years.  Some of the engagements in which he 
took part were Jefferson City, Lexington, Big Blue, beside numerous sharp 
skirmishes.  He was mustered out of the service in June, 1865, soon after 
which he emigrated to California, where he was actively engaged in agricultural 
pursuits up to 1888, when he returned to Greene County.  During the time 
that he was in the West he lived in Enby and San Joaquin Counties, Cal., and 
was at one time the foreman of 1,500 acres, the most of which he devoted 
to the raising of wheat.  He has been a very successful business man, and 
since his return to Greene County, Mo., he has been a resident of Springfield, 
where he was soon appointed to the position of deputy sheriff, and still later 
became a member of the city police force.  He has held the office of constable, 
and in 1885 he was elected to the office of sheriff of Greene County, which 
position he filled with ability for two years.  At the expiration of his term of 
service he moved to his farm two and one half miles east of Springfield, where 
he has been very successfully tilling the soil and raising stock for about six 
years.  His estate comprises 120 acres, and it is without doubt one of the 
best improved places in the county.  He has been living in the city of Springfield 
since early in 1893, where he is conducting a well appointed livery stable, 
and rents his farm.  His stables are located on Oliver street, near Boonville 
Street, and is one of the best appointed and located, as well as stocked, in 
the city.  He has about fourteen head of horses always ready for service, 
and is already doing a profitable business.  Soon after the close of the war, 
Mr. Donnell was married to Miss Mary A. Hall, of Greene County, daughter 
of George Hall, and to them two children were given:  Charles, who was 
killed at Willow Springs in 1893, on the Gulf Railroad, leaving a widow, and 
George S., who is living in California, now a widower.  Mr. Donnell lost his 
first wife in 1872 in California, after which he married Miss Mattied J. Williams 
of Kentucky, a daughter of Perry Williams, and by her is the father of five 
children:  F.M. Jr., Cordie, Carrie, Lee and Roy.  Mr. Donnell has always 
been a Democrat in politics, and in all ways has ever been a man of decidedly 
public spirit.  He has a neat and comfortable residence at 615 St. Louis Street, 
besides a number of other dwellign houses in the city, and considerable real 
estate of value.



John C. McKoin
   This gentleman is one of the oldest settlers of Greene County, and it is but 
just to say that he occupies a conspicuous and honorable place among its 
worthy residents, for he has always been honorable, industrious and enter-
prising, and as a result has met with more than ordinary success.  He is a 
man well known in agricultural circles, and is recognized as a careful, energetic 
farmer, who is by his advanced ideas and progressive habits has done much to 
improve the farming interests of his section.  His father, Thomas G. McKoin, 
was born in Virginia and came of an old Colonial family, members of which took 
an active part in the Revolutionary War.  After reaching man's estate he settled 
in Barn County, Va., and later in Logan County, Ky., where he wedded Susan 
Barham, daughter of Thomas Barham, who was for seven years a soldier in 
the War of the Revolution.  To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McKoin a family 
of thirteen children were given:  Mary, James, Dorcas, Minerva, Elizabeth, 
Cassandra, Angeline, Martha, Eli, Catherine, Jane, John C. and Clayton.  In 
1838 Mr. McKoin took up his residence in Greene County, Mo., settling on 
Leeper Prairie, two miles from the town of Ash Grove, at which time there 
were very few settlers in that region, the Leepers being about the only resident 
family there.  Mr. McKoin entered 160 acres of land but after a few years made 
another location at Grand Prairie, but later sold this claim of 160 acres and 
entered 300 acres of prairie land and 80 acres of timber.  In 1850 he moved 
to the farm now occupied by his son, John C. McKoin, which them consisted of 
160 acres.  He proved himself a shrewd and practical farmer, lived well, 
possessed the regard of his neighbors and acquaintances, for he was upright 
and honorable in all his business transactions, and was at one time the owner 
of quite a number of slaves.  He was a captain in the old State Militia, was a 
soldier in the War of 1812 and in his religious views was a Presbyterian.  
John C. McCoin, the subject of this sketch, is a product of Logan County, Ky., 
where he was born June 1, 1836, and consequently at the time of his parents' 
removal to Greene County, Mo., he was about two years of age, and thus is one 
of the oldest settlers of the county, although just in the prime of life and vigor of 
manhood.  His early educational advantages were of a limited nature but he was 
afterward an attendant of the College of Charles Carlton, of Springfield, Mo., where 
he secured a sufficiently practical education to fit him for the ordinary duties of life.  
On June 10, 1861, he responded to his country's call by joining the Sixth Missouri 
Cavalry, which was disbanded three months later, after which Mr. McKoin served 
in the commissary department of General Fremont's army and later under General 
Wyman, in the same capacity, remaining in the commissary department until the 
close of the war, and participating in the battle of Springfield.  He was married in 
Johnson County, Kan., on January 3, 1866, to Miss Christiana Scott, daughter of 
William and Isabella (McCora) Scott, the former of whom was a Scotchman and 
married in his native land, where one child was born.  He settled in the State of 
New York in 1842 but later removed to Wisconsin and in 1860 to Johnson County, 
Kan., where he still lives at an advanced age and in the enjoyment of a comfortable 
competency, which he has won by successfully tilling the soil.  He and his wife are 
members of the Presbyterian Church and in that faith reared their five children: 
Isabel, Christian, James, William and Cameron.  William Scott, father of Mrs. McKoin, 
served a term as county judge, was twenty years coroner and served in the late war 
as veterinary surgeon in the Fifteenth Kansas Cavalry.  After their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. McKoin settled on their prairie farm, called the Cold Spring Dairy Farm, to which 
they have added, by good management and industry, until they now have a fine 
200-acre tract, the most of which has been cleared from the timber, and upon which 
many other valuable improvements have been made.  The land is now considered 
very valuable.  He has been largely engaged in stock dealing for about eleven years 
and dealt largely in mules throughout the South.  His present farm is well stocked 
with fine animals and he conducts a large dairy.  He and Mrs. McKoin have two 
children:  William T. and John B., the former of whom died when about eighteen 
years of age, a well educated, honest and promising young man.  The younger 
son first attended the public schools of Springfield, attended Drury College three 
years and later finished his education in a commercial college of Springfield, from 
which he graduated.  Mr. and Mrs. McKoin are members of the Congregational 
Church, and politically he is a stanch Republican and is an active member of the 
G.A.R. and socially a Mason.



Col. C. C. Akin
     It is impossible to place too high an estimate on the importance of
the real estate business in regard to the various other elements of
commercial and financial activity.  None other rests upon a more
vital or honorable basis as regards the growth and welfare of a city.
 The Springfield real estate market has come to be recognized as the
leading financial interest of this progressive city of the Southwest,
and among the leading and well-known agents engaged in this is Col.
C. C. Akin, who is well and favorably known for his upright and
honorable methods of transacting business.  He is an energetic land
agent, is locating many families in this section of the State on
prairie and timber farms, and is a rustler with a big "R".  He has
done much to advance the corporate growth and business interests of
Springfield by inviting hither men of capital from various parts of
the country and offering inducements to residents to own houses and
lots, as well as to purchase lands for manufacturing, mercantile and
other purposes.  This most enterprising gentleman was born in Bullitt
County, Kentucky, August 16, 1849, and was reared to manhood in Green
County of the Blue Grass State.  After attending the best schools in
the locality, including Gilead Institute, he taught school two years
in Kentucky, one in Illinois, and three in North Missouri, closing
his career as a teacher as principal of the graded school of
Amazonia, Missouri.  Studying law in Missouri, he was admitted to the
bar by the Hon. H. S. Kelley, judge of the twenty-ninth Missouri
circuit, on October 29, 1879.  Since that time he has practiced his
profession and also engaged in the real estate business.  For two
years he resided in Brule County, South Dakota, and is fully prepared
to sympathize with his unfortunate brethren in that country of
drouths and blizzards.  Mr. Akin's father, Rev. Moses Akin, was one
of the best known ministers in Kentucky, celebrated as a pulpit
orator and revivalist.  Mrs. Akin's father, William Sallee, is one of
the wealthiest farmers in Buchanan County (near St. Joseph), Mo. 
During the past five years Mr. Akin has conducted one of the most
active land offices in southwest Missouri, at the handsome city of
Stockton, in Cedar County, and none among the dealers of realty enjoy
a larger measure of public confidence than he.  He has met with a
success simply commensurate with the abilities he has displayed and
is eminently qualified by long experience and practical ability to
render service of the most valuable character.



James H. Duncan
     Among the noted and representative men of the flourishing city of
Springfield, Mo., stands the name of J. H. Duncan, who is the present
prosecuting sttorney of Greene County.  Perhaps no member of the
legal fraternity enjoys a more extensive practice or is more widely
known than this gentleman.  He came originally from the Blue Grass
State, born in Georgetown, Scott County, January 8, 1854, and is a
son of Harvey and Mary E. (Bowden) Duncan.  The father was also a
native of Kentucky, born in Madison County, and is of Scotch-Irish
descent, his ancestors emigrating to this country at an early date. 
For many years the father made his home in Springfield but later
moved to Canton, Ill., where he resides at the present time.  Mrs.
Duncan was a sister of Ex-Judge James H. Bowden of Kentucky.  She
died in the year 1862.  Of the five children born to this worthy
couple, only two besides our subject are now living:  Prof. S. P.
Duncan, a resident of Coldwater, Kan., and probate judge of his
county, is a prominent attorney of his city, and Mrs. Allie B.
Gardener, wife of J. B. Gardener, resides in Canton, Ill.  The early
recollections of our subject were of his native State but when the
war broke out he moved with his parents to Evansville, Ind., from
there to Canton, Ill., in 1866, where he remained for five or six
years.  He was educated in the Evansville and Canton high schools,
and also attended the McGree College in Macon County, Mo., thus
securing good educational advantages.  After leaving school he became
a teacher and while thus occupied he took up the study of law.  Later
he entered the law office of Cravens & Bray and was admitted to the
bar in 1876.  The same year he began practicing his profession in
Springfield and in 1878 was elected city recorder and re-elected in
1879.  For four years after this he held the office of justice of the
peace, was elected assistant prosecuting attorney and later
prosecuting attorney.  Mr. Duncan has been chairman of the Republican
committee of Springfield, for eight years, and has ever taken an
active part in politics.  He began giving his undivided attention to
the practice of law in 1882, and since that time all his mind has
been centered on that and his duties as prosecuting attorney.  Since
serving in that capacity he has prosecuted a large number of murder
cases and is classed among the foremost attorneys of the city. 
Socially he is a member of the A. O. U. W., Lodge No. 402,
Springfield, and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  Mr.
Duncan has a pleasant home at No. 710 West Elm street, and this is
presided over by his chosen companion, formerly Miss Levie A. Carson,
a native of St. Louis and the daughter of Henry S. Carson of
Springfield.  Three children have been born to this union, as
follows:  Henry H., Harvey L. and Paul B.  Mrs. Duncan holds
membership in the Baptist Church and is a lady of intelligence and
good judgement.  Mr. Duncan has ever taken a deep interest in
politics, has been a delegate to all the Republican conventions, and
is one of the influential young men of the county.



From the Springfield Leader, 23 July 1916 Sunday Morning edition
  Jesse Hartley 105 Years Old
  Five Years Past the Century Mark
  Webster County Resident Is Hale and Hearty

  Big Celebration Today

  Kinsmen From Many States Will Assist Five Generations In Observing
Anniversary

  Five generations of the family of Jesse B. Hartley, pioneer resident of
Webster county, will assemble at the Hosmer grove adjoining the old
Hartley homestead, eight miles west of Marshfield, today to celebrate
with Mr. Hartley his 105th birthday anniversary.  He will not be 105,
however, until December 17.
  As far as is known, Mr. Hartley is the oldest man in Missouri.  Although
the infirmities of age have made their mark on the aged man, he still is
able to speak and act with reasonable ability and will enjoy with the
youngest the elaborate program which has been arranged for the annual
celebration.
  It is expected that 200 sons, grandsons, great-grandsons and
great-great-grandsons and daughters of four generations will be in
attendance at the big family reunion.  The event will take on more than
a local importance and will be attended by relatives and friends from
more than a dozen states.
  Three of the grandchildren reside in Springfield.  They are E.H. Hartley
of 556 West Division street, J.H. Hartley of 994 North Campbell street,
and Mrs. Nettie Breese of 825 Rogers avenue.
  There are three sons and a daughter living in Webster county, all within
four miles of the old homestead.  They are Hamilton, Bentley and Robert
Hartley, who live near the family home, and Mrs. Sallie Bass, who lives
within four miles of the homestead.
  Mr. Hartley was born in North Carolina, December 17, 1811.  He moved to
Missouri in 1840, coming to Webster county by way of St. Louis with
wagon and team.  They crossed the Mississippi river in a ferry boat.
  The celebration today is the first that has been held by the family
since Mr. Hartley's hundredth birthday anniversary.  At that time the
severe weather prevented many of the relatives from attending the
celebration and it was decided to hold the next one, if Mr. Hartley
lived that long, five years later during the summer.
  Kinsmen of Mr. Hartley attribute his strength of body and mind at his
advanced age to his temperate habits and abstinence from use of
alcoholic beverages.  He has one habit, an unusual one for this day.  He
sniffs snuff.
  From their earliest childhood, grandchildren of Mr. Hartley recall
seeing him take a pinch of snuff and inhale it, after having finished a
meal.  He still follows the old habit, relatives here said yesterday.
  Mr. Hartley possesses a splendid memory and enjoys narrating events in
connection with his boyhood and early youth.  He was twice married, both
of his former helpmates having preceded him to the grave some years ago.
 He makes his home with his sons, all of who live near the old
homestead.
  A number of Springfield friends of the family will attend the outing. 
There will be religious services during the day.








Missouri Records
Kansas Records
Cemetery Transcriptions


Census Transcriptions
Marriage Records
Obituary Index


Family Research
Research Requests
Email Webmaster

 



Alienware Computer Coupons