Greene County Biographies
Greene County Biographies
From: Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri
Early and Recent History and Genealogical Records
of Many of the Representative Citizens
by Jonathan Fairbanks and Clyde Edwin Tuck
JOHN M. HALL. The record of John M. Hall is that of one of the leading
twentieth century agriculturists and stock men of Franklin township,
Greene county, where he owns and operates a valuable farm, specializing in
dairying. His characteristics observed in demonstration are those of the
matter of fact business man, reliable and responsible, careful of his
antagonisms and loyal in his friendships. He is economic in the use of
time, knowing that the "mill will never grind with the water that is
passed," so he tries to make the best use possible of the present; for
time moves as steadily as the clock ticks in its measurement, but the
manifestation of things resulting during its movement is dependent upon
the impetus or push applied in correlation. Knowing how and doing promptly
dissolves the mysticism which wonderment attaches. Mr. Hall believes with
the eulogies of Bret Harte, that "The charitable few are chiefly they whom
fortune places in the middle way; Just rich enough, with economic care, to
save a pittance, and a pittance spare." Mr. Hall was born October 5, 1869,
in the above named township and county. He is a son of Isaac M. and Martha
(King) Hall, a well known old family of this locality, full mention of
whom is made in a separate sketch in this volume, hence their life records
will not be reproduced here.
John M. Hall spent his boyhood days on his father's farm in Franklin
township, and he received his education in the common schools of his
native county, and with the exception of six months spent in Colorado, he
has always lived in Franklin township. In the spring of 1907 he bought
ninety-four acres, known as the McMurray farm, and his father gave him
sixty acres, thus making him a farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres,
which is known as the "Grove View Stock Farm," and which he has placed
under a high state of improvement and cultivation, and here he is making a
pronounced success as general farmer and stock raiser. Formerly he handled
large numbers of mules annually, but has now turned his attention to
dairying, operating a modern and sanitary dairy for several years, keeping
an excellent grade of cows and he also raises large numbers of hogs,
specializing in spotted Poland-China breeds, and is having great success
with them. At this writing he owns two choice specimens of Poland-China
hogs, one ten months old and weighing four hundred and fifty pounds. He
takes great pride in his stock and the upkeep of his fine farm, believing
in advanced methods whenever practicable, and everything about his place
indicates thrift and good management. He has a pleasant home and large
outbuildings. He has such modern farming machinery and implements as his
needs require. In 1912 he built an imposing barn, sixty by seventy feet,
with a capacity of one hundred tons of loose hay. It is equipped with box
stalls and is well protected by lightning rods.
Mr. Hall is one of eight children, namely: Mrs. Sadie Appleby lives near
Strafford, Missouri; Mary has remained on the home farm; John M., of this
review; Mrs. Lillian Appleby lives in Kansas City; William lives near
Gladeville, this county, on the Bolivar road; Avery lives in Franklin
township; Frank makes his home in Franklin township; Charles died in
infancy.
Mr. Hall was married in October 1891, to Emma Thomas, a native of Greene
county, Missouri, where she grew to womanhood and received her education.
She is a daughter of Jackson and Cellia (Foren) Thomas. To Mr. and Mrs.
Hall six children have been born, namely: Coral; Madison, Kemling Hall,
born April 4, 1915, is a native of Greene county and lives with the
subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mabel Fitch, born November 17, 1893, is
living at home; Hazel, born January 7, 1896, died December 26, 1901; Loal
Luanna, born January 2, 1898; Dorotha C. A., born February 3, 1907, and
Martha Hermosa born August 30, 1910, all at home.
Politically, Mr. Hall is a stanch Republican, but has never aspired to
public office. However, he takes delight in assisting in any local
movement, political or otherwise, which he thinks will be for the general
good of his community.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER HALL. Human life is like the waves of the sea; they
flash a few brief moments in the sunlight, marvels of power and beauty,
and then are dashed upon the remorseless shores of death and disappear
forever. As the mighty deep has rolled for ages past and chanted its
sublime requiem, and will continue to roll during the coming ages, until
time shall be no more, so will the waves of human life follow each other
in countless succession until they mingle at last with the billows of
eternity's boundless sea. The passing of any human life, however humble
and unknown, is sure to give rise to a pang of anguish to some heart, but
when the "fell destroyer" knocks at the door of the useful, and removes
from earthly scenes the man of influence and the benefactor of his kind,
it not only means bereavement to kindred and friends, but a public
calamity as well. In the largest and best sense of the term, the late
William Alexander Hall was distinctively one of the noted men of his day
an generation in Greene county, Missouri, and as such his life record is
entitled to a conspicuous life in the annals of Springfield and vicinity.
As a citizen he was public-spirited and enterprising to an unwanted
degree; as a friend and neighbor, he combined the qualities of head and
heart that won confidence and commanded respect; as a man of affairs, who
had a comprehensive grasp upon the philosophy of business, he ranked for
years among our most progressive commercial exponents. He was one of the
prominent Masons of the state, and he brought honor and dignity to the
public positions he filled with such distinguished success.
Mr. Hall was born in Nashville, Tennessee, November 27, 1834. He was a son
of John and, Elizabeth Hall, both natives of Scotland, from which country
they emigrated to America when young and located in Pennsylvania, and were
married in the city of Philadelphia. They removed to Tennessee in the year
1828, where they lived ten years, thence moved to Missouri in 1838,
settling in St. Louis, where the father established the first water-works
of that city, and where his death occurred in 1862. In 1848 the mother of
our subject, together with her youngest child, perished in a steamboat
disaster on the Alabama river. William A. Hall was about fifteen years old
at the time of his mother's death, and he then went to live with his
sister, Mrs. Emily Jane Oliver, wife of Judge Mordecai Oliver, of
Richmond, Missouri. While living in Richmond he supplemented the public
school education acquired in St. Louis with an academic training under the
tutelage of Prof. A. Coke Redman, completing the course of study.
Mr. Hall began his business career by opening a drug store in Richmond,
Ray county, removing to Liberty, Clay county, this state, in 1856, where
he continued in the same line of business for fourteen years. He then
accepted the position of cashier in the Commercial Bank, of Liberty, but
owing to failing health he was compelled to resign. In 1872 he went to
Mexico, Missouri, and engaged in the drug business, and a year later left
Audrain county for Springfield, where he and John R. Ferguson opened a
drug store, which, under his management, assumed so large a volume he was
induced to discontinue the retail and devote his energies to building up
an exclusive wholesale business. The business of this widely known house
flourished and expanded and an extensive trade was carried on all over the
Southwest. It was for some time known as the Hall-Pipkin Drug Company,
later as the Hall Drug Company, our subject having acquired the interests
of his partner, John D. Pipkin, and at the time of his death was president
and general manager.
Mr. Hall was married in Liberty, Missouri, in 1855, to Florence Ringo,
Rev. Moses E. Lord, a noted divine of the Christian church, performing the
ceremony. Mrs. Hall was a daughter of Samuel Ringo, a pioneer merchant of
Liberty. To this union six sons and two daughters were born, five of whom
are still living, namely: J. William, Samuel, A., Mrs. J. D. Pipkin,
Richard Lee and Mrs. Florence McLaughlin. The mother of these children
passed away on May 10, 1901. Both parents were active members of the
Christian church during the major portion of their lives. Florence Hall
married Charles McLaughlin, a native of Portland, Maine, where he was
reared and partly educated, subsequently attending a military school, and
he engaged in newspaper work for some time in his native city, then
removed to Springfield, Missouri, where he became secretary of the water
company. His death occurred a number of years ago. To Charles and Florence
(Hall) McLaughlin one child was born, Florence, who is now a student in
Drury College. Mr. McLaughlin's father, Charles McLaughlin, Sr., was a
prominent citizen of Portland, Maine, where he was a successful business
man, helped improve the city, and was elected representative to the
Legislature of Maine in 1878, and in 1884 was elected to the State Senate.
At the time of his death, many years ago, he was first vice-president of
the Board of Trade of his city, a director in a bank and president of the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Politically, Mr. Hall was a Democrat, having cast his first vote in the
interests of that party, to which he adhered the rest of his life.
Throughout his career, despite the distractions of business, he took an
active interest in civic affairs. He was twice elected mayor of
Springfield, his first term of office beginning in 1875. He again was
mayor in 1897. He gave the city his best service and his administrations
were eminently satisfactory to all concerned. He did much toward the
general upbuilding and welfare of the city, whose interests he ever had
very much at heart.
From the date of his association with Masonry, Mr. Hall was intensely
interested in the benevolent motives of the order and took great pride in
the honors conferred upon him. His Masonic career commenced in Liberty
Lodge No. 31, where he was made a Master Mason in 1857. He served as
Master of the same in the years 1868 and 1869. He was exalted to the Royal
Arch degree on May 10, 1860, and in Liberty chapter No. 3 he served as
high priest in 1869, and again in 1871. He received the degree of Cryptic
Masonry in Zabud Council No. 25 at Springfield in 1904. He was created a
Knight Templar in Liberty Commandery No. 6, Knights Templars, November 17,
1865. On his removal to Mexico he affiliated with Hebron lodge, of that
place, and assisted in forming Crusade Commandery No. 23. In 1873, after
his removal to Springfield, he affiliated with United Lodge No. 5,
Springfield Chapter No. 15, and St. John's Commandery No. 20, Knights
Templars. He served United lodge as master in 1875, 1878, 1883 and 1884.
He served Springfield chapter as high priest in 1876, and again in 1890.
He received the order of high priesthood in 1900. He served St. John's
commandery as commander in 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1883, 1884, 1886,
1887 and 1888. In 1896 he was appointed grand warder of the Grand
Commandery, Knights Templars, of Missouri, and successively filled the
several stations, being elected grand commander in 1904. In this latter
eminent position the order credits him with having shown good judgment,
zeal and activity, rounding out an administration that will go into
history as beneficial to the order he loved.
Personally, Mr. Hall was a gentleman of commanding presence, and his
genial, social qualities and strict business rectitude rendered him
popular as a man and citizen.
The death of Mr. Hall, at the advanced age of seventy-five years, was
sudden and unexpected, occurring at the commodious Hall residence on North
Main street, on Friday morning, September 25, 1909. The impressive funeral
services were in charge of St. John's commandery, Knights Templars, and
were held in St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church, South. The eulogy was
delivered by Rev. F. L. Moffett, pastor of the South Street Christian
church, of which Mr. Hall was a member. The remains were escorted to the
church and to the Maple Park cemetery by the Hobart Military band and by
St. John's commandery, Knights Templars, and the united lodges. John
Nixon, of St. Louis, eminent grand generalissimo; William H. Glancey, of
St. Louis, eminent grand standard bearer; John Gilles, past grand
commander, of St. Louis; W. Y. Beam, grand instructor, St. Louis; A. N.
Martin, grand warder, Lebanon; John Wingsweimer, Will Diffenderffer,
Senator J. W. Farris, past commanders, and John Diffenderffer, all of
Lebanon, and other high Masonic officials, attended the services. The
pallbearers were Jobe Newton, Col. H. W. Diggins, Dr. D. B. Farnsworth,
Paul O'Day, M. V. Ausherman, George Arnold, J. M. Heckenlively and W. T.
Bigbee, all past commanders of St. John's commandery, Knights Templars.
Among the many complimentary and eulogistic newspaper articles that
appeared in the press from time to time in regard to Mr. Hall, the
biographer will here reproduce but one, which he deems sufficient to show
the high standing of our subject as a man of affairs and citizen, the
article having appeared editorially in the Sptingfield Leader, under the
caption of "Springfield's Popular Mayor." It follows "In this day and time
when money is regarded as the summium bonum that municipality whose
affairs are looked after by clean, honest, conscientious men is, indeed,
fortunate. Of course, all men have weaknesses and shortcomings, and your
correspondent is not prepared to say that he has found a man or body of
men who are by any means faultless, but when we state that the city of
Springfield has one of the best mayors she ever had, and that her
governmental affairs are being conducted in an honorable and
straightforward manner, we expect to be taken with all seriousness.
"The Hon. William A. Hall is certainly the right man in the right place,
for none to whom we have spoken, and we have conversed with many on the
subject, have had anything to say in regard to him and his methods except
words of praise and commendation and approval.
"Mr. Hall is a representative man of affairs, having been identified with,
the business interests of this section for a number of years. He is
interested in the drug business, of which business he is a master, and has
done his share in building up the city and making it one of the most
substantial towns in this section of the country.
"In view of these facts his nomination for mayor by the Democrats and his
election by the people were certainly manifestations of good judgment.
Since his inauguration there has not been a mistake made in conducting the
affairs of the city; no, not even, as far as we can learn an indiscretion.
The city has been kept, lives and property have been adequately protected,
and prosperity has come—let it be hoped, to stay.
"We congratulate the people of Springfield upon their good judgment in
selecting such a mayor, and at Mr. Hall's request will say that he is not
a candidate for re-election, which is certainly a matter for regret."
CAPT. JOHN HALSTEAD. Everybody in the western part of Greene county knows
Capt. John Halstead, real estate agent and general manager of the
Brookline Inn and feed barn. He has long been a resident of this locality,
whose interests he has had at heart and sought to promote, and as a
booster for his town and township he has done as much as any other man and
is deserving of the high esteem in which he is universally held.
CLYDE L. HAMMOND. It is a matter of doubt which is the greater heritage, a
distinguished name or a goodly estate. Some persons would choose one and
some the other, depending wholly on their feelings and judgment combined;
but when the two are handed down to descendants together, the permanent
standing of such descendants in the community will never be questioned, so
far as the heritage is concerned. The average citizen of the United States
can hand no greater heritage to his children than an unblemished
reputation, as was done in the case of Clyde L. Hammond, manager and chief
engineer of the Hammond Brothers Ice and Cold Storage Company of
Springfield.
Mr. Hammond was born on June 14, 1888, at Parkerville, Morris county,
Kansas. He is a son of Lycurgas L. Hammond, also a native of that place,
the son of John Hammond, one of the early pioneers of the Sunflower state,
whither he removed from Kentucky. There the father of our subject grew to
manhood, received his education and spent his earlier years as a farmer,
later engaging in the contracting business, and he did a great deal of
contract work for the state at Harrington, also had the contract there for
furnishing ice and fuel for the Rock Island Railroad Company. He is at
present located in Kansas City, where he handles coal and ice and
furnishes these materials to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad
Company, also to the Rock Island and the Northwestern roads. For some time
he was in partnership with his brother, John R. Hammond. His record is
that of an honorable and successful business man. His wife, who was known
in her maidenhood as Maggie Rider, died in 1884, and was buried at
Parkerville, Kansas. To these parents two children were born, namely:
Clyde L., of this sketch; and Helen, who is the wife of Dr. Glen Clark, of
Kansas City.
Clyde L. Hammond grew to manhood in Kansas and there he received a common
school education, but left school when sixteen years of age, and began
clerking in a grocery store, later learned the butcher business, which he
followed three years. In his early life he also worked as a farm hand for
some time, also ran on the road for his father between Colorado, Kansas
City, Chicago and Milwaukee. He came to Springfield, Missouri, in 1908 and
became superintendent of construction of buildings and installed ice
machines, etc. He became something of a mechanic and took the electric
course of one of the Eastern correspondence schools and became well
qualified for his present position. The plant of the Hammond Brothers was
built in the spring of 1908, and is three hundred and fifty by one hundred
feet. The property was leased from the Frisco. It is modern in every
detail and well equipped for prompt, high-grade and sanitary service. It
has a capacity of seventy tons of ice daily and employs twelve hands. The
Frisco and a number of small dealers are constantly supplied, the road
icing its cars from this plant, not only passenger coaches but meat and
vegetable cars are supplied, the road having tracks on each side of the
plant. The Hammonds have their own electric plant, three ice machines, two
transcript machines, each machine having a capacity of one hundred and
five tons. The plant is operated from April until November. L. L. Hammond
is president and J. R. Hammond is treasurer.
Mr. Hammond was married in 1910 to Hazel Phiffer, a daughter of Charles
Phiffer, of Kankakee, Illinois.
Politically, he is a Democrat. He belongs to the Eagles and is a member of
the Catholic church.
WILLIAM TAYLOR HANKINS. Great changes "have come over the face of the
land" since William Taylor Hankins first saw the light of day nearly sixty
seven years ago and, having spent these long years in the same locality,
he has been a most interested and by no means a passive spectator to the
transformations of the eastern part of Greene county, having sought to do
his full share in the work of progress here. For many years he was
postmaster at Strafford, but is now living quietly on his farm. No one is
better or more, favorably known in this community, for his life has been
an exemplary and inoffensive one.
Mr. Hankins was born on a farm near Strafford, Missouri, on April 2, 1848.
He is a son of Abraham and Sarah R. (Miller) Hankins. The father was born
in Tennessee on March 23, 1808, and was reared there on a farm and
attended the common schools. In youth he learned the tanner's trade.
Remaining in his native state until 1835, he then emigrated to Greene
county, Missouri, making the trip by wagon, drawn by an ox and a horse. He
farmed and followed his trade here, and he owned many slaves and was a
successful farmer. His death occurred in November, 1861. He was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was a prominent man in his
community. The mother of our subject was born near Winchester, Kentucky,
on June 3, 1809, was reared on a farm there and attended the public
schools. She came to Greene county, Missouri with her parents, about the
year 1835, and here met and married Mr. Hankins. She was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Her death occurred on June 30, 1878 on the
home farm. To these parents five children were born, namely: Andrew
Jackson, deceased; Benton T., deceased, William T., of this sketch;
Letitia, deceased, and Mrs. Susan Potter, of Strafford, who is the
youngest.
William T. Hankins grew to manhood on the old homestead near Strafford and
he received his education in the district schools. He worked on the home
farm until after his father's death, and his principal life work has been
general farming. In 1896 he was appointed postmaster at Straffotd, the
duties of which office he continued to discharge acceptably and
satisfactorily for a period of seventeen years, resigning in 1913. He
moved to his farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which joined Strafford,
where he has a cozy home and is now living practically retired.
Mr. Hankins was married on March 7, 1871, to Mary Jane Comstock, who was
born on November. 4, 1852, while her parents were emigrating from
Tennessee to Greene county, Missouri. She is a daughter of L. B. and Nancy
Comstock. She grew up on a farm in this state and attended the common
schools, removing with her parents to Greene county during the Civil war.
She was a member of the Baptist church, Her death occurred on April 5,
1889.
To our subject and wife three children were born, namely: Nathaniel Brown
lives in Greene county; he married Sarah McCabe Fitch and they have two
children, Hershel and Zenobia; Mrs. Florence Foster lives in Strafford and
has two children, Joe and Helen, and Mrs. Manta Delzell, who married
George G. Delzell. They have two children, Gregory and Sarah Marie. She
makes her home with her father.
Politically Mr. Hankins is a Republican, and fraternally he is a member of
the Masonic Order.
EZRA FOUNT HANNAH. In writing this biographical history one fact, among
other interesting ones, has been revealed, a very large percentage of the
men who are now performing the business of the various avenues of endeavor
are native Missourians. It is true the innate restless spirit in the human
race has sent a very large portion of the young men who were born in this
city to other cities and states where they are residing, and while most of
the men who are working here at present are natives of this state, the
majority of them were born outside of Springfield. The young men,
especially, who fill the offices, work in the shops, run the trains and
perform a large share of the professional work here, have come from
surrounding towns and counties. One of this number is Ezra Fount Hannah,
superintendent of the gas department of the Springfield Gas and Electric
Company.
Mr. Hannah was born in Howard county, Missouri, November 10, 1873. He is a
son of W. Frank and Mary (Padgett) Hannah. The father was born in Ireland,
July 21, 1856, and on June 1st, of the same year, and also in Ireland,
occurred the birth of our subject's mother. There these parents grew to
maturity, received the usual education of children in that country of the
middle classes, and there they were married, in February, 1871, and at
once immigrated to America, and located in Paulding county, Ohio, but
later established the family home in Howard county, Missouri, where Frank
Hannah devoted his attention to general farming until his death in 1896.
Politically he was a Republican. He belonged to the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and was a member of the Baptist church. His widow survived
him eleven years, dying in 1907.
Ezra F. Hannah grew to manhood on the home farm in Howard county, and
there assisted his father with the general work. He received a good
education in the public schools of his native community and in the State
Normal at Warrensburg, Missouri, from which institution he was graduated
in 1892. Soon thereafter he began teaching in the rural schools of Howard
county, which he continued with much success until 1898, in which year he
began the study and experiment in the manufacturing of gas, and in due
course of time mastered the various phases of the same, working meanwhile
in various minor positions at different places until 1906, when he came to
Springfield and accepted a position with the Springfield Gas and Electric
Company, with which he has remained to the present time. He soon proved to
the company here that he was well advised on the gas question and was a
young man that could be implicitly trusted, and, in 1911, he was made
superintendent of the gas department, which position he has held to the
present time.
Mr. Hannah was married on December 26, 1893, to Belle Downey, who was born
in Saline county, Missouri, June 8, 1873, and there grew to womanhood and
was educated. To this union four children have been born, namely: Bruce
F., who lives in Tucson, Arizona, where he is assistant superintendent of
the Tucson Rapid Transit Company; J. Howard is attending high school;
Beulah is also a high school pupil, and Ezra F., Jr., is in the ward
school, now in the eighth grade.
Politically Mr. Hannah is a Democrat, and religiously a Baptist. He is
very active in fraternal circles and is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, of which order he is past chancellor; is past grand of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; is past Venerable Consul of the Modern
Woodmen of America; he is at present lecturing knight of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen
of the World.
JEFFERSON E. HANSELL. One of the popular, capable and courteous passenger
conductors of the Frisco System is Jefferson E. Hansell, a man who is
universally liked not only by railroad men but by all with whom he comes
in contact. He has had charge of passenger trains between Springfield and
Memphis for twenty-five years for the Frisco and the old "Gulf" railroad,
and it stands to reason that no one could retain such a responsible
position a quarter of a century were they not capable, honest and
trustworthy.
Mr. Hansell was born July 1, 1856, in Marion, Lynn county, Iowa. He is a
son of Joseph and Hannah (Leeka) Hansell, both natives of, Ohio, the
father born near Cincinnati. They grew up in the Buckeye state, received
such educational advantages as the schools of those early times afforded,
and there they were married. Joseph Hansell learned the carpenter's trade
when a young man and became a successful carpenter and contractor, and in
later life was a traveling salesman. He was a soldier in the Civil war,
enlisting in 1861, in Company K, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Captain
Christian, Mr. Hansell having located in Iowa in 1855. He served three
years in the Union army, principally against the hostile Indians of the
West, and he saw a great deal of hard, active service after the war he
returned to Marion, Lynn county, Iowa. His family consisted of four
children, namely: Francis M. was a soldier in the Union army during the
Civil war; Mary Elizabeth, William Madison and Jefferson E. of this
sketch. These children are all living at this writing. Politically Joseph
Hansell was a Republican, and he was a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic.
Jefferson E. Hansell grew to manhood at Marion, Iowa, and received his
education in the public and high schools. After leaving school he drove a
team across the great western plains to Salt Lake City, Utah, and back. In
1881 he began his career as a railroader, which he has continued to the
present time, a period of thirty-three years. He first secured employment
with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, first as freight brakeman, then was
promoted to freight conductor. In 1886 he came to Springfield, Missouri,
with his family and went to work for the Frisco railroad, first as
brakeman, and for three weeks worked on the Kansas City, Ft. Scott &
Memphis railroad, Which road was purchased by the Frisco Railroad Company
in 1900. On December 25, 1889, Mr. Hansell was promoted to passenger
conductor and placed in charge of a train between Springfield and Memphis,
and this has been his run continuously to the present time. He took the
first train over the mammoth bridge across the Mississippi river at
Memphis, May 12, 1902.
Mr. Hansell was married, May 17, 1881, to Minette Risser, who was born at
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, October 15, 1862. She is a daughter of Daniel and
Martha (Foarisend) Risser. Mr. Risser was born in Germany, from which
country he emigrated with his parents to the United States when he was
five years old. The family first located at Cleveland, Ohio, and there
Daniel Risser grew to manhood and received his education, and from there
he moved to Salem, Iowa. He was born in 1832, and died in 1904. His wife
was born in Richmond, Indiana, and came west in 1845 to Iowa. She was born
in 1842, and is still living, making her home in Springfield, Missouri.
She and Mr. Risser were married in Salem, Iowa. Politically, Mr. Risser
was a Democrat, and he served for some time as justice of the peace, and
was also postmaster for a while at Pilot Grove, Iowa. His family consisted
of eleven children, five of whom are still living, namely: Minette, wife
of Mr. Hansell of this sketch; C. H., Omer E., Mamie and. Etna. Mrs.
Hansell grew to womanhood in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and there received her
education in the public schools and an academy, under Professor Howe,
completing the teacher's course, but was married before she could begin a
career as teacher.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hansell, all living, namely:
Bertha, born December 2, 1882, is the wife of Mathew H. Galt; Emma E.,
born December 2, 185, is single and is living at home Jefferson E., born
October 25, 1891, is a reporter on the Springfield Republican; Don M.,
born May 1, 1893, is in the hardware business and lives at home.
The Hansell home is a beautiful new brick structure at 1440 East Walnut
street. Politically, Mr. Hansell is a Republican. He belongs to the
Masonic order, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree. He is a
member of the Order of Railroad Conductors and the Springfield Club.
WILLIAM M. HANSELL. A history of the Hansell family shows that they are
people who have ever been characterized by industry, thrift, foresight and
honesty in dealing with their fellow-men, and when, with these qualities
are coupled the attributes of sound sense, tact and fortitude, which
people of their blood universally possess, there are afforded such
qualities as will enrich any land and place it at the top of the countries
of the world in the scale of elevated humanity. The career of William M.
Hansell, who is now living practically retired in his beautiful home in
Springfield, is an interesting and varied one, the major portion of which
has been devoted to railroad service. He has been a resident of
Springfield for over a quarter of a century and is well known in railroad
and business circles here.
Mr. Hansell was born in Clinton county, Ohio, March 24, 1851. He is a son
of, Joseph A. and Hannah (Leeka) Hansell, the father having been the
oldest child of Michael and Rachael (Adams) Hansell, and he was born in
Clinton county, Ohio, also, and there occurred the birth of the mother of
our subject. These parents grew to maturity, were educated in the common
schools and were married there. The Hansell family originally lived in
Virginia, from which state they removed to Ohio in a very early day.
Joseph A. Hansell was a carpenter by trade and a very highly skilled
workman. He moved from Ohio with his family in 1853 to Linn county, Iowa.
His family consisted of four children, all still living, namely: Frank M.
lives in Marion, Iowa; Mary E. lives in Marion, Iowa; William M. of this
sketch; and J. E., whose sketch appears in another part of this work. The
father of these children w as born in 1823, and the mother was born in
1824; they spent the last years of their lives in Linn county, Iowa, where
the father died in 1895 and the mother passed away in 1897.
William M. Hansell received a common school education and when a boy he
learned the printer's trade in the office of the Marion Register, in Iowa,
remaining there two or three years, then went back to Ohio, where his
mother's people lived and went to school for a year at Hillsboro, Highland
county. Not caring to follow the printer's trade he learned the saddlery
trade, and was working in Chicago at the time of the great fire in the
autumn of 1871. He then returned to Marion, Iowa, where his parents
resided, and soon thereafter began his railroad career on the Burlington,
Cedar Rapids & Northern road as brakeman, working there about a year, then
went to Clinton, Iowa, and began work for the Chicago Northwestern
railroad as brakeman, and eight months later was promoted to freight
conductor and worked at the same with that road for a period of four
years, then as passenger conductor for ten years. He then went to Chadron,
Nebraska, and ran a passenger train from that city to Ft. Casper, Wyoming,
this being a branch road of the Chicago Northwestern. Leaving the West in
1889 he came to Springfield, Missouri, and began working for the Kansas
City, Ft. Scott & Memphis railroad as freight conductor. A year and a half
later he quit railroading and since then has been engaged in the real
estate business, handling principally his own property and has been very
successful in a business way. He owns considerable valuable property here,
including a handsome and modernly appointed residence on East Elm street,
one of the most desirable homes in the city.
Mr. Hansell was married in September, 1877, in Clinton, Iowa, to Emma
Dickson, to which union two children were born, one of whom died in early
life; Harry Howard, born, October 29, 1878, was graduated from the high
school at Clinton, Iowa, and is now living in Chicago, where he is engaged
in the drug business. The wife and mother passed to her rest in January,
1885. In 1888 Mr. Hansell married Lucy Torrence, at Chadron, Nebraska. She
is a daughter of John and Sophia (Wilson) Torrence.
To our subject and his second wife one child has been born, Charles C.,
whose birth occurred December 10, 1890. He received a good education in
the Springfield schools, being a graduate of the high school, and is now
living in Kansas City, where he is in the employ of the Swift Packing
Company.
Politically, Mr. Hansell is a Republican and has long been active and
influential in political affairs. He is chairman of the state legislative
committee, and is chief of Division No 321, Order of Railway Conductors.
Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic Order, being a Knight Templar. He
is an Episcopalian in his church affiliations. He is broad-minded, and a
gentleman of pleasing personality.
ALBERT N. HANSON. All credit is due a man who wins success in his chosen
fields of endeavor in spite of obstacles, who, by persistency and energy
gains a competence and a position of honor as a man and citizen. The
record of the late Albert N. Hanson, for many years a well-known
contractor of Springfield, is that of such a man, for he came to this city
in the days of her rapid growth and here worked his way up from the bottom
to definite success and independence. He quickly adapted himself to the
conditions which he found here and labored so consecutively and managed so
judiciously that he finally became the manager of a thriving business,
which he ever conducted along honorable lines and all the while was
establishing a reputation among his acquaintances and friends for sound
judgment, honest dealings and good citizenship. His tragic death was a
matter of sincere regret to all who knew him.
Mr. Hanson was born on October 17, 1848, in Hancock county, Illinois. He
is a son of Nichols and Adalize (Hubbard) Hanson. The father was born in
the state of New York and the mother was a native of the province of Nova
Scotia, Canada, from which she came to the state of New York when young
where she met and married the elder Hanson. He was a blacksmith by trade
in his early life, but later turned his attention to general farming. He
and his wife removed from New York to Michigan, later to Illinois where
they remained until within a few years of their deaths, having removed to
Nebraska, where the death of Nichols Hanson occurred in 1900 at an
advanced age, and his wife passed away soon after. During the Civil war he
was quartermaster of the Twenty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry under
Gen. John C. Fremont, having enlisted in 1862. Seven children were born to
Nichols Hanson and wife, namely: Ellen, Charles, Louis are all deceased;
Albert N., subject of this memoir; Mary E. Lewis lives in Springfield,
Illinois; William is deceased; Florence, the youngest, lives in Turon,
Kansas.
Albert N. Hanson received a common school education, and later attended a
business college in Michigan about six months. He was all his life a wide
reader of good literature and in this way and by coming in contact with
the business world he became a well-informed man. In his early career he
followed farming for the most part until he came to Springfield, Missouri.
He had engaged in railroading also for a time during his younger days, and
was in the mercantile business awhile. After living in Kansas several
years he moved to Shannon county, Missouri, where he spent a few years,
locating in Springfield in 1888. Here he engaged in contracting, general
building and railroad construction work. When the Missouri Pacific built
its branch from Crane, Missouri, to this city he secured the contract for
the excavation between Main and Campbell streets in Springfield, also
built the Washington avenue subway at the intersection of that
thoroughfare and Commercial street. During a period of twenty years he
kept in his employ a crew of from ten to fifteen men, working at various
places all the time Having through his able management and close
application accumulated a competency for his declining years he partially
retired from active life a few years before his death and lived quietly in
his beautiful home on Guy street, Springfield.
Mr. Hanson was twice married, first, on December 30, 1867, in Hancock
county, Illinois, to Aarie Mintle, who was born in Ohio, from which state
she moved to Illinois when a child. She was born on April 19, 1846, and
was a daughter of Aaron P. and Mary Ann (Ward) Mintle. To our subject and
his first wife the following children were born, namely: Jessie, born on
March 30, 1870, died on December 22, 1874; Frank and Fred, twins, born on
December 8, 1872, both live in Springfield; Flora, born on October 15,
1876, lives in Springfield; Effie, born on April 14, 1879, lives in
Springfield; Mrs. Pearl Rueter, born on June 29, 1882, lives in
Springfield; Harry E. and Harvey E., twins, born on December 20, 1884, the
former lives in Springfield and the latter died in infancy; Mrs. Stella
Reynolds, born on June 20, 1887, lives in Springfield.
The mother of the above named children was called to her rest on March
.24, 1910. On September 25, 1910, Mr. Hanson married Mrs. Etta B.
Merchant, who was born in Ohio, October 25, 1862. She grew to womanhood in
her native state and received a common school education. She first married
W. W. Merchant on March 25, 1883, in Ohio. He died on March 12, 1910. Two
children were born to this union, Maurice E., born on October 26, 1885. He
married Odilia Branch on September 18, 1910. They live in Kansas City,
Missouri. They have one child, Donald J., born on September 24, 1911, and
died on May 24, 1914. The second child is Leister H., born on August 16,
1890.
Mrs. Hanson is the daughter of Erastus Lockwood and Emily R. Baxley. They
were both born in Ohio, the father on September 12, 1833. He died on
February 7, 1891, in Ohio. The mother was born on August 19, 1840, and is
still living in Raymond, Ohio, at the old home.
Politically, Mr. Hanson was a Republican, and he was always loyal in his
support of the party. He served as street commissioner of the city of
Springfield under Mayor Bartlett, also Mayor Malotte. He discharged the
duties of this important position in a manner that reflected much credit
upon himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. Fraternally,
he was a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Hanson enlisted in Company
A, Sixty-fifth Illinois Regiment Volunteer Infantry, in the ninety-day
service. However, he served till the close of the war and was discharged
at Jonesboro, North Carolina.
The death of Mr. Hanson occurred on April 16, 1915, as the result an
accident. He was driving across the street in his automobile when a street
car crashed into his machine, hurling him from his seat a distance some
twenty feet, his head striking the curbing. Burning oil from the gasoline
tank of the automobile was scattered over him and the oil took fire,
igniting his clothing. Help reached him immediately, but he remained
unconscious to the end which came a few hours later, as a result of
injuries to the head.
Personally Mr. Hanson was an admirable character, kind-hearted,
companionable, charitable and always a high-minded gentleman. He was
beloved by the hundreds of men who had been in his employ during his
business career. His work was always honestly done and all who knew him
esteemed him highly as a result of his many commendable characteristics.
RICHARD HENRY HANSON, M.D. It was the great Thoreau who said that men
would be better if they had sufficient vision to look below the surface of
things. This vision is not vouchsafed to many, but one of the favored in
this respect is Dr. Richard Henry Hanson, a well known homeopathic
physician of Springfield, whose long and useful career has been an
interesting and varied one and of much good to humanity. We find that he
was a gallant soldier in the defense of the Union, a worthy minister in
the Methodist church for many years, an effective worker for the cause of
temperance, a potent influence in the state legislature where he served
two terms, and enterprising merchant and for more than three decades a
successful man of medicine, both a pharmacist and physician, and withal a
true gentleman who deserves the high respect in which he is universally
held.
Doctor Hanson was born in Peru, Clinton county, New York, June 1, 1842. He
is a son of Cyrus and Lucinda (Hill) Hanson, natives of New England, the
father born near Dover, New Hampshire, and when a boy he ran away from
home and went to Vermont and later removed to near Peru, New York, where
he followed farming the rest of his life. The mother of our subject was
reared in Vermont and her death occurred in Minnesota.
Dr. Richard H. Hanson grew to manhood on the home farm in New York state
and there he received a common school education, later attending Malone
Academy, at Malone, N. Y. He remained on the farm until he was twenty
years of age, then studied chemistry and photography, the daguerreo-type
method. 'When the Civil war came on he enlisted in Company L, Sixth New
York Heavy Artillery, and saw considerable hard service. He was among the
troops which was detailed to guard the wagon trains of the Federal army
during the battle of Cedar Creek, but the company he was a member of
annihilated. However, he effected his escape, was taken sick and spent the
latter part of the war in a hospital in Philadelphia. After he was
honorably discharged from the army he returned to his home in New York
state and soon thereafter bought a country store, which he conducted a few
years then came to Springfield, Missouri, in the early seventies. Later
taking up the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, he joined the
St. Louis conference and spent thirteen years in the ministry, during
which time he was regarded as one of the most earnest, faithful and able
members of the conference and a leader in this denomination in southern
Missouri. He was for a time connected with the school of this denomination
at Marionville, and among his charges were Ash Grove, Marshfield, Windsor,
Sedalia, Bloomfield, Iberia, Dixon and Hartville. In all these places he
did a most commendable work and greatly strengthened the church in each.
During the latter part of his ministry he studied medicine and finally
abandoned the pulpit much to the regret of those who had occasion to know
of his splendid work in the gospel, and took up the practice of
homeopathy, which he has continued with pronounced success for the past
thirty years, and is one of the best-known men in this branch of medical
science in the Southwest. He was duly licensed as a homeopath and was also
given a pharmacy license, having made himself familiar with that
profession also. While living in Wright county he served as coroner for a
period of eight years in an eminently successful manner. He led the
campaign for local option in Wright county which won by a majority vote of
over twelve hundred, the credit for this victory being due very largely to
him. On the strength of his labors in this line he was elected
representative from Wright county to the state legislature on the
Republican ticket, and his record there was so highly satisfactory and
commendable that he was elected for a second term by a much larger
majority than previously. He was an ardent supporter in locating the State
Normal School at Springfield, also was chairman of the emigration
committee, which appropriated $10,000 toward bringing emigration to
Missouri. In fact, for many years Dr. Hanson has been a power in the
Republican party in southern, Missouri.
Dr. Hanson located in Springfield in November, 1912. He is a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is past chaplain.
Dr. Hanson owns and runs a sanitarium on North Main street, which is a
spacious, fine building, with a fine, well-kept yard and grove. Dr. Hanson
also has a fine 500-acre farm in Wright county, Missouri, which is also
very valuable mineral land.
Dr. Hanson was a teacher in Aurora, Missouri, and taught on ground that
has since proven to be rich mineral land.
The doctor was married in Bolivar, Polk county, Missouri, in 1878, to
Zillah F. Holt, a daughter of John L. and Joanna Holt. Her father was a
spy for the Union army during the Civil war. He devoted his life to
cabinet making, and was surveyor of Lawrence county for a number of years.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, Viola, widow of Edward
McNealy; Perry L. lives at Hartville, Missouri; Golden lives at home, now
Mrs. William Curry; Galen lives in Springfield and Daisy lives at home.
WILLIAM ROBY HARMAN, M. D. Success in any enterprise demands that some
person shall learn to do some one thing better than it has been done
before. It is especially true of the medical profession. As a successful,
physician Dr. William Roby Harman, of Springfield, has done much for the
cause of suffering humanity, and has won honor and the evidences of
deserved success for himself. While engaged in the cafes and exactions of
his profession he has not forgotten to fulfill the demands of good
citizenship and no enterprise of a worthy public nature has appealed in
vain to him for support.
Doctor Harman was born in Watuaga county, North Carolina, January 25,
1867. He is a son of Alfred and Lucinda (Trivett) Harman. The father was
born in North Carolina on January 3, 1845, and the mother was also born in
that state, and there these parents grew to maturity, received meager
educations in the old-time schools, and were married and there they
established their home. The father devoted his active life to general
farming. During the Civil war he fought gallantly on the side of the
Confederacy, a member of a North Carolina cavalry regiment, in Stonewall
Jackson's army. He saw much hard service and suffered many diseases as a
result of exposure. He was never wounded, but was taken prisoner and held
by the enemy until the close of the war. His death occurred on May 17,
1884. His widow, a daughter of Wilbur Trivett, is still living, making her
home in Jacksonville, Florida, at this writing. Her father was killed by
bushwhackers during the war between the states.
Dr. William R. Harman grew to manhood on the home farm in North Carolina
and there worked hard when a boy, and in the winter months he attended the
district schools. When twenty years of age he left his native state and
came to Springfield, Missouri, where he secured employment in the shops of
the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company, learning the machinist's
trade at which he continued to work for a period of thirteen years,
becoming an expert. During his spare moments he studied medicine,
believing that his mission in life was along that line rather than as a
trades man, and thus he is very largely a self-educated man, and has
always supported himself. He saved his earnings as a machinist and entered
the American Medical College, at St. Louis, where he made a good record
and from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1903. He
first began the practice of his profession at Marshfield, Webster county,
where he remained until 1905, getting a fairly good start. Seeking a wider
field for the practice of his profession he came to Springfield in
November, 1905, and opened an office and practiced here for five years,
then sought a different location, but in 1914 returned to Springfield
intending to make this his permanent home and he is now enjoying a good
practice as a general physician. He is a member of the Missouri State
Eclectic Medical Society and the National Eclectic Medical Society.
Politically, the Doctor is a Democrat, however, is inclined to be an
independent voter, casting his ballot for the best men seeking the various
offices, rather than for the party. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic
order, Knights of Pythias, the Mystic Workers of the World, the Royal
Neighbors, the Modern Woodmen, the Court of Honor, the Fraternal Union,
the Rebekahs and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being prominent in
the work of the last named lodge. He is a member of the Baptist church.
Doctor Harman was married first to Ella B. Robberson, a daughter of
William Sherad Robberson, a near relative of Doctor Robberson, the
prominent physician and early settler of Springfield. The death of Mrs.
Harman occurred on May 9, 1897. Doctor Harman subsequently married Corine
B. Burgin, a daughter of William Burgin, a contractor of Springfield.
Doctor-Harman is the father of four children, all by his first wife; they
were named as follows: Ira L., born in Springfield, April 16, 1889, was
educated in the schools of Marshfield, With two years in high school; he
has remained single. Earl H., the second son, was born in Springfield,
January 30, 1891, was educated in the schools of this city and Marshfield,
spending two years in high school; he married Ina Smith, a daughter of
Buck Smith, on November 18, 1914; he is now reading medicine, and is first
assistant to the surgeon at the Frisco hospital. Troy P., the third son,
was born in Springfield, April 23, 1893, was educated in the schools of
this city and Marshfield, with two years in high school, and after
spending two years in a shoe factory, he joined the United States army in
February, 1914, and at this writing is stationed at Ft. Myers, Virginia.
Ella Ruth, our subject's only daughter, and the youngest child, was born
March 25, 1895, received a good education in the public schools,
graduating from the high school at Bellflower, Montgomery county, this
state, and she is now the wife of Earl E. Ottinger, agent for the
Burlington railroad at Troy, Missouri; to this couple one child has been
born, Mary Margaret, whose birth occurred on July 15, 1914.
Personally, Doctor Harman is well liked by all who know him, his record
having always been that of a good citizen in every respect.
JOHN B. HARRISON. Scattered here and there among Greene county's
population of over seventy thousand people are men and women who claim,
with a degree of pride as well they may, the state of Kentucky as the
place of their nativity. There is a certain distinction in being a native
of the fine old Blue Grass state, which has furnished many great men to
our national life and has for a century been a potent factor in the
affairs of the Union. One of who hail from within her borders is John B.
Harrison, foreman for over quarter of a century of the great Meyer mills
of Springfield.
Mr. Harrison was born at Bowling Green, Kentucky, August 2, 1862. He is a
son of William, H. and Lucinda (Poor) Harrison, the father native of
Virginia and the mother a native of Ireland, she having emigrated from
that country when young and met and married the elder Harrison in the
East. The father of our subject died when his son, John B., was about
twelve years of age, and the latter was small when his mother passed away
in Missouri, so he was reared to manhood in the home of his grandfather
Benjamin Harrison, who was one of the early pioneers of southeastern
Missouri. There our subject received a common school education and worked
on the farm when a boy, until he was about sixteen years of age, then went
away with Sells Bros. circus, with which he traveled for two years, during
which he gained much valuable knowledge of the world first handed. He then
secured employment driving a street car in St. Louis. In 1881 he came to
Springfield and here drove one of the first "mule cars" of the local
street railway, continuing in this work for about four and one-half years,
began working in the grain milling business for Fox & Rienman at old Gulf
Mill, which stood at the corner of Jefferson and Mill streets. He remained
there two years, during which he mastered the various ins and outs of the
milling business, then went to work for Clark & Russell, which company he
remained until the panic during President Cleveland's Administration, at
which time the mill was sold to the Meyer Milling Company and Mr. Harrison
has been with this concern ever since, his long service indicating that he
has been most faithful and capable in this line of work. For a period of
twenty-six years he has been foreman and grain buyer of this well-known
mill, and is one of the most widely known men in his line in the
Southwest.
Mr. Harrison was married on October 4, 1884, in Springfield, to May
Edmondson, who was born in this city, August 7, 1864. She is a daughter of
R. H. and Martha A. (Mathews) Edmondson, an old family of Springfield,
both parents of our subject's wife having long been deceased. Mr.
Edmondson was in the employ of the Frisco railroad for nearly forty years
here. Mrs. Harrison grew to womanhood in this city and was educated in the
local schools.
Five children have been born to our subject and wife, all living, namely:
Eugene C., born November 5, 1885, is connected with Fred Harvey at this
place; Beatrice, born on March 8, 1888, married F. J. Green who is
employed here by the Frisco; Nellie Shaw, born on February 14, 1891,
married H. E. Tegarden, a farmer living northwest of the city; John B.
Jr., born on November 6 1894, married Jessie Hartley and he also works for
Fred Harvey in this city; Ralph Ashley, born on September 14, 1897, is
attending high school at this writing.
Mr. Harrison owns a good home at 971 Robberson avenue. Politically, he is
a Republican. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ANDREW THOMAS HART. The attitude of the general public toward the farmer
of today is somewhat different to that during the century preceding the
present. All now realize the fact that with the advanced methods of
scientific farming it requires more brains than brawn to make a success as
an argiculturist and stock man. The tiller of the soil can no longer
follow the methods employed by his grandfather when he worked the virgin
soil, when the climate was different, the land different, in fact, most
everything different. One must not only "be up and doing, and learn to
labor and to wait," as the poet, Longfellow, admonished, but one must be a
close student of literature bearing on agricultural and horticultural and
live stock subjects, but also a keen observer and a logical thinker.
Nature has given most men sufficient natural ability to succeed in
farming, but so many are indifferent, apathetic and unwilling to put forth
the proper amount of physical and mental exertion to reap large rewards in
this greatest of all callings.
Andrew Thomas Hart, of Wilson township, Greene county, is a good example
of the thoughtful, energetic and successful twentieth century farmer. He
was born in this vicinity on April 4, 1867. He is a son of Maj. R. K. and
Mary Jane (Beal) Hart. The father was born in North Carolina and when
nineteen years old emigrated to Christian county, Missouri, settling on a
farm near the town of Clever, with his parents, with whom he remained
until he was about twenty-eight years of age, and assisted with the
general work on the farm. After his marriage he bought a farm near the
present village of Battlefield and there devoted himself to general
farming. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army and proved to
be such a gallant and efficient soldier that he was promoted to the rank
of major, and was honorably discharged at the close of his term of
enlistment. He devoted his active life to general farming and is now
living in retirement on South Market street, Springfield, Missouri. His
family consisted of seven children, namely: Alvoree, Samuel K., Mrs.
Nannie C. Hendrix, Mrs. Hollie A. Alexander, Andrew Thomas, of this
review; William H., and the youngest child died in infancy.
Andrew T. Hart grew to manhood on the home farm and he received a somewhat
limited education in the district schools, later taking a course in
business college, also attended the old Ash Grove College, and finally
secured a very good text-book training. He has devoted his life
principally to general farming, but during the year 1913 and 1914 he was
for some time engaged in the real estate business with J. E. Walton on
South street, Springfield. However, farming appealed to him most and he
returned to rural life. He is owner of one hundred and sixty-acres of
well-kept and well-tilled land in Wilson township, and in connection with
general farming he carries on stock raising and buying and shipping live
stock on a large scale, and is one of the successful and well-known
stockmen of the western part of the county. He has made all the present
improvements on his lace. He has a good home and good buildings in
general.
Mr. Hart was married on October 31, 1888, to Nannie C. Putman, a daughter
of Joseph E. and Mary Jane (Moore) Putman, both natives of Greene county,
this state, and here Mrs. Hart was also born, grew to womanhood and was
educated in the public schools. She had no brothers or sisters.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hart two children have been born, Herman E. and Roy P. The
latter is a civil engineer. He was graduated from the Columbia University,
and is at present employed in the engineering department of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad, with headquarters at St. Louis. Herman E., who received
a good high school education, is a traveling salesman for the McDaniel
Milling Company, his territory being in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Politically Mr. Hart is a Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic Order
and the Knights of Pythias, and religiously he belongs to the Baptist
church.
ROSWELL. K. HART. To the pioneer more than to any other is civilization
indebted for the brightest jewel in its diadem, for it was he that blazed
the trail and acted as van-guard for the mighty army of progress that
within the last century has conquered Greene county's wilderness and wild
prairies and transformed this section of the Ozark region into one of the
fairest and most enlightened of the commonwealth of Missouri's domains.
One of this number is Roswell K. Hart, a veteran of the Civil war, who is
one of the earliest settlers of Wilson township, this county, and who,
after a successful life as farmer and stock man is living in retirement in
Springfield.
Mr. Hart was born June 7, 1829, in North Carolina, and when four years old
emigrated with his parents to Bedford county, Tennessee, and there grew to
manhood and was educated. He is a son of Henry and Barbara (Lambeth) Hart,
natives of North Carolina. The father of our subject was a soldier in the
war of 1812. He moved from Tennessee to Greene county, Missouri, with his
family, where his death occurred, December 21, 1855, and there his wife
died about 1877. They had spent their lives on a farm. Mr. Hart was a
soldier of courage and ability, and he not only served five years in our
second war with Great Britain, but also served two years in Indian wars
prior to that period. His family consisted of eight children, only two of
whom are living, Mrs. Sally Davis, and Roswell K., of this sketch.
Our subject received but a limited education, however he has become a
well-informed man through wide reading. He was twenty-three years old when
he made the overland trip in wagons with his parents to Greene county,
Missouri, from Tennessee, experiencing numerous hardships en route, and
here he has resided ever since, the family having reached here on December
2, 1852, sixty-two years ago. His active life has been spent in farming
and dealing in live stock. However, he dealt somewhat in the teaming
business, hauling, prior to the Civil war, selling fruit, flour, groceries
and trading with the Indians. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted
in Springfield, in the, Home Guards, and in August, 1862, he enlisted in
Company B, Seventy-second Missouri State Militia, Federal army, and at one
time he was in charge of a company of men, ranking as major, and covered
the retreat of the Union army from Springfield to Rolla. He made an
excellent record as a soldier, was respected as an officer by his men and
superiors, all acknowledging his courage and ability, and he was
discharged at the close of the war as a lieutenant-colonel. Returning
home, he resumed farming and stock raising in Wilson township, which he
helped put on the map. Selling his farm, he retired from active life about
twenty years ago and moved to Springfield, where he has since resided, now
living, in his pleasant home on South Market street. He also owns other
properties here which he rents.
Mr. Hart was married February 2, 1859, in Springfield to Mary J. Beal, who
was born near Wilson's creek, this county. She was a daughter of Daniel
and Nancy Beal. She was reared in this county, and educated in the common
schools here. Daniel Beal was born in North Carolina, May 19, 1799. He was
a cabinet maker by trade and when a young man went to Giles county,
Tennessee, where he married Nancy Gibson, a daughter of George Gibson and
wife, and they were the parents of seven children, namely: George T.,
Allen H., James N., Martha A., Damaris, Mary J. and Penelope. Mr. Beal
remained in Giles county, Tennessee until three of his children were born,
and in 1831 moved to Lawrence county, Missouri, and settled near where
Verona now stands. Judge James White came the same time, and here Mr. Beal
made a clearing and began his home. He was in company with Judge White in
the ownership of land and as they thought the tract of land not large
enough for both, Mr. Beal sold out and came to what is now known as Greene
county, the latter part of 1833 and settled on Wilson's creek, in Campbell
township, four miles west of Springfield. Here he cleared up a farm and
passed the remainder of his days, owning two hundred and eighty-eight
acres. In politics, e was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were
members of the Baptist church. Mr. Beal lived to the age of about
forty-seven years and died, December 7, 1847. He was one of the old
pioneers of southwest Missouri and highly respected by the older settlers,
by whom he was well known as a man of integrity and character and honest
worth.
Seven children were born to Col. Roswell K. Hart and wife, namely: Nancy
A., who married Louis Hendricks, of Christian county, Missouri; Mrs.
Halley A. Alexander lives in Brownwood, Texas; the third child died in
infancy, unnamed; Alveria, of Springfield; Samuel K., of Houston, Texas;
Andy T., of Greene county; and William H., who is a resident of Austin,
Texas.
The death of Mrs. Mary J. Hart occurred February 26, 1914, at the age of
sixty-five years.
Politically, Colonel Hart is a Democrat. He is a member of the Christian
church, as was his wife. He belongs to the John Matthews Post, Grand Army
of the Republic, at Springfield.
JOHN W. HARTT. In these days of large commercial transactions, when
credits cut a large factor in the daily round of business, the province of
the banker is very wide and very important. The excellence of the banks of
the present compared with those of the past gives to all classes of
business men first-class security for their deposits, assistance when they
are in need of ready money to move their business, and a means of
exchanging credits, that could be accomplished in no other way. In a large
measure the success of the present time in all branches of business is
largely the result of the present banking methods. One of the flourishing
and substantial banks of Greene county is the Bank of Strafford, of which
John W. Hartt is the present able and popular cashier.
Mr. Hartt was born in Hardeman county, Tennessee, February 19, 1869. He is
a son of John S. and Eliza A. (Johnson) Hartt. The father was born in
Missouri, August 10, 1839, and was reared on a farm in this state. He
received a limited education in the public schools. When a young man he
learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed in later life. He also
devoted considerable time to the butchering business, maintaining the same
in several different parts of his native state, his last location being
Fair Grove, Greene county, where his death occurred in the year 1889. He
was a member of the Baptist church. His wife was born in Hardeman county,
Tennessee, January 13, 1841, and there she grew to womanhood and was
educated, coming to Missouri in 1876. She survived her husband two years,
dying in Fair Grove. She, too, was a member of the Baptist church. To
these parents seven children were born, namely: Joseph, deceased; Amanda,
deceased; John W., of this sketch; James, deceased; Frank, deceased;
Margaret; Mrs. Mae Putman lives in Springfield.
The first seven years of our subject's life were spent in Tennessee. He
lived with his parents in different parts of Missouri until he was sixteen
years old, when he came with the family to Fair Grove. He received a
common school education and when a young man worked on the farm and also
learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for some time. He worked
for some time in different stores, including the Long Brothers' general
merchandise store at Fair Grove. He then carried the mail for eighteen
months; then went into the drug business for himself; later became
assistant cashier of the Bank of Fair Grove, in which he remained two
years, and then went to Strafford and assisted in organizing the Bank of
Strafford, of which he is the present cashier. He has done much toward
building up a popular and sound banking institution which would be a
credit .to any community. It has a capital stock of ten thousand dollars,
is excellently housed and modernly equipped and managed under safe and
conservative methods, and has a large list of depositors. A general
banking business is carried on. The directors of the bank are L. C.
Ricketts, Theo. Thorson, A. B. Grier, C. A. Womack, J. J. Foster, Jr., W.
P. Camp, J. W. Hartt. The officers are: L. C. Ricketts, president; Theo.
Thorson, vice-president; J. W. Hartt, cashier, and T. F. Womack,
bookkeeper.
Mr. Hartt came to Strafford in February, 1911, and on the 14th of that
month the bank began business, which has increased gradually in volume
ever since.
Our subject was married September 15, 1896, to Sarah I. Minor, who was
born in Kansas in 1877. She is a daughter of William and Amanda Minor.
They spent their lives on a farm and are now deceased.
Mrs. Hartt grew to womanhood on the home farm and received a good
education. One child has been born to our subject and wife, Pauline Hartt,
whose birth occurred October 24, 1907.
Politically, Mr. Hartt is a Democrat. Fraternally, he belongs to the
Masonic order, and in religious matters he is a member of the Baptist
church. He is a man who has relied very largely upon his own resources and
has succeeded in life despite obstacles that would probably have thwarted
the purpose of a man of less ambition and determination.
THOMAS L. HASLER. The fair Oriole state, while not so rich or vast in area
as some of her sisterhood in the Union, is one of the best beloved.
"Maryland, My Maryland," has long been a favorite song, formerly more so
than now, however; but all of us, from whatever section of America we may
hail, admire the state that has produced so many splendid citizens. From
the early Colonial days down to the present she has given to the nation
leading men and women in all walks of life. Among the citizens of Greene
county, Missouri, who originally came from within her borders, is Thomas
L. Hasler, one of the well known locomotive engineers of the Frisco
System, with which road he has been connected for a period of forty years,
and it goes without saying that he has been capable and trustworthy, for
that is a very long time to remain with one company.
Mr. Hasler was born in Baltimore, Maryland, July 14, 1852. He is a son of
Eli and Maria (Divine) Hasler, the father, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock,
having been born in the Keystone state in 1825, and his death occurred
October 12, 1903. The mother of our subject was born in Ireland in 1826,
immigrated to the United States when young in years, and her death
occurred March 21, 1909. These parents received limited educations in the
common schools and they were married in Pennsylvania. Eli Hasler was a
cabinet maker by trade, which he followed in a number of the large cities
of the East, finally locating in St. Louis, where he lived a while, and in
1860 moved to Phelps county, Missouri, where he purchased a farm and there
spent the rest of his life, but his widow spent her last years with her
son, our subject, in Springfield. During the, Civil war Eli Hasler was a
member of the Home Guards at St. James, this state. His family consisted
of eight children, namely: William lives in St. James, Missouri; Thomas
L., of this review; Marira, George, Agnes, John and Frank are all living;
Edward is deceased.
Thomas L. Hasler was but a boy when his parents brought him to Missouri
and he grew to manhood in this state and received his education in the
schools of St. James. He worked on the home farm until 1873, then began
his railroad career on the Atlantic & Pacific railroad, which subsequently
became known as the Frisco. He began as fireman and worked his way up to
engineer on a passenger train, in which capacity he is still employed, his
run being between Springfield and Fort Smith, Arkansas. He has long been
regarded by the company as one of the safest and most capable of its
engineers, sober, reliable and careful.
Mr. Hasler was married on September 3, 1879, in Springfield, to Lucy E.
McCleane, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Archie and Lucy E.
(Bird) McCleane. The father's death occurred in Jefferson county,
Missouri, and the mother of Mrs. Hasler died in England. Mrs. Hasler
received a good common school education.
To our subject and wife seven children have been born, namely: Allen is
employed in the Frisco shops here; Mamie; Archie is employed in the Frisco
shops; George is also a machinist in the local railroad shops; Agnes,
Della, and Eli, the latter working in the Frisco shops.
Politically, Mr. Hasler is a Democrat. He belongs to Division 83, United
Brotherhood of Engineers. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and
he and his family are Catholics.
JOHN H. HASTEN. Everyone, in addition to his ordinary workaday life,
whether it be professional, political, commercial, or one of manual labor,
by which he earns his daily bread, needs to have something aside from his
material existence to which he can turn for relaxation. If he is to escape
the limitations of a humdrum, commonplace, provincial, and narrow
existence, he must build for himself a home in the realm of the ideal.
Thus he will be able to escape when he wishes from the ordinary
environment of business or professional life and become a citizen of the
world, living in a sense a life as wide as that of humanity. John H.
Hasten, president of the Springfield Bakery Company and for many years a
well known business man of this city, is one who knows the value of good
ideals--an intellectual abode, and thus he is not only a successful man of
affairs but is a citizen who is highly appreciated by those who know him.
Mr. Hasten is a worthy representative of one of the sterling pioneer
families of Greene county, and his birth occurred in Cass township, in the
northern part of this county, on August 27, 1869. He is a son of Isaac N.
Hasten, also a native of that vicinity, where he grew to manhood, attended
the district schools and engaged successfully in farming many years, later
in life locating in the village of Cave Spring, not far from the Hasten
homestead and there he engaged in general mercantile pursuits for a period
of twelve or fifteen years, enjoying a large trade with the surrounding
locality, dealing honestly and courteous with his many customers and
carrying a large and well selected general stock of goods at all seasons.
Finally he removed to Springfield and engaged in the retail grocery
business on West Commercial street with his usual success until his death
about five years later, in July, 1897, at the age of fifty-seven years. He
was not only a capable business man but an influential citizen and active
in public affairs. For a period of nearly twenty years he served Cass
township as justice of the peace in a manner that reflected much credit
upon his ability and to the eminent satisfaction of the people, his
decisions being characterized by a uniform fairness and sound principles
of jurisprudence. He was also a member of the school board in his district
and was a great advocate of good education, doing much to encourage better
schools in his part of the county. Politically, he was a Republican.
During the Civil war he enlisted in this county in the Forty-sixth
Missouri Cavalry and saw three and one-half years of faithful and
commendable service for the Union, proving a gallant and intelligent
soldier.
The mother of the subject of this sketch was known in her maidenhood as
Mary Jennings, who was born on August 22, 1850, in Neosho, Missouri.
Mrs. Mary Hasten, our subject's mother, is still living, now at an
advanced age, and makes her home with her son, John H., of this sketch,
who is the youngest of her three children, her daughter being Docia, who
married Joseph B. Wilson, a farmer and stock raiser of Cass township; the
eldest child, William, died in infancy.
John H. Hasten grew to manhood on the home farm in Cass township and there
he worked when a boy. He received his education in the district schools of
his community and in Morrisville College in Polk county, later attending
Drury College, Springfield, and finally took a business course in this
city. When nineteen years of age he went into business with his father and
helped manage the grocery store on Commercial street which was a success
from the start. He was in partnership with his father and upon the
latter's death he bought out the heirs and continued to conduct the store
until 1901 when he sold out to South Brothers, and engaged in the grocery
and seed business on East Commercial street, in partnership with R. A.
Fisher under the firm name of Hasten & Fisher. They continued successfully
until 1907 when our subject sold out, having other business interests
which took the major portion of his time. In 1905, with others, he
organized the Springfield Bakery Company, of which he has since been
president and he has been the principal spirit in building up one of the
largest, best equipped and popular bakeries in the Southwest. Further
mention of this industry is made on another page.
Mr. Hasten was married on August 28, 1891, to Josie N. Lee, a daughter of
Robert and Ruth (Watson) Lee. Mr. Lee was a successful farmer of Cass
township, Greene county, where Mrs. Hasten was born, grew to womanhood and
educated. Later Mr. Lee moved to California and engaged in the vineyard
and fruit raising business.
Fraternally, Mr. Hasten is a member of the Masonic order, including all
branches, such as the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
and the Order of Eastern Star; he also belongs to the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen and the Court of Honor. He was a member of
the school board of Cass township for two years. Religiously he belongs to
the Baptist church, to which his wife also belongs, and in which he was
formerly trustee and is now deacon. He is active in church work.
ALANSON MASON HASWELL. The life of Alanson Mason Haswell, a well known
real estate man and writer of Springfield, has been an interesting and
useful one, and although he has reached the age when most men are living
in seclusion and avoiding the turmoil, of business affairs, he is still
strenuously engaged in serious work. He hails from the far away, romantic
land of Rudyard Kipling, one of the present-day master story-writers, and
many interesting tales might be written from the life chronicle of our
subject, but space forbids more than a brief resume of his life and
character.
Mr. Haswell was born in the city of Mulmain Burmah, East India, June 29,
1847. He is a son of James Madison Haswell and Jane Matilda (Mason)
Haswell. These parents were missionaries of the American Baptist
Missionary Union, and went to Burmah immediately after their marriage in
1835. James M. Haswell was sent as an assistant to Adoniram Judson, the
first American Baptist missionary, and it was in Dr. Judson's home that
the subject of this sketch was born.
Anthony Haswell, the paternal grandfather, was born in Portsmouth,
England, in 1756, and when a boy was brought to America. When twelve years
old he was apprenticed in Boston, Massachusetts, was a "son of liberty" at
fourteen, and when in his seventeenth year, helped throw the tea into
Boston harbor, at the historic "tea party" in 1773. During the
Revolutionary war he served in Washington's army at the siege of Boston,
was also in the battle of White Plains, New York, and several other
engagements. His grandson, A. M. Haswell, is a member of the Springfield
Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, on the record of Anthony Haswell, as also
for ancestors of his mother. Anthony Haswell established the Vermont
Gazette in Bennington, Vermont, in 1783, and he and his sons continued to
publish the paper for more than fifty years, and it was one of the most
influential papers of New England during that period. His death occurred
in 1816. His epitaph says: "Anthony Haswell, a Patriot of the Revolution;
a sufferer for the freedom of the press under the alien and sedition
laws." On his mother's side A. M. Haswell is descended from Sampson Mason,
one of Oliver Cromwell's "Ironsides," who emigrated from England to
Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts in 1665 and bought a large tract of land
where he founded the town of Swansea, Massachusetts. Hundreds of his
descendants are buried there, and many families of them still live there.
Mr. Haswell's great-grandfather, Brooks Mason, was a Revolutionary
soldier, who fought at the battles of Bennington and Saratoga, as did also
four of his sons.
A. M. Haswell was brought to the United States to be educated when eleven
years of age, and he never returned to Asia, although his only brother and
both parents spent their lives and died there, and his two sisters are
there today. After passing through preparatory schools, Mr. Haswell
attended high school in Clinton, New York, and finished his education with
two years in Madison University (now Colgate University) at Hamilton, New
York. After farming in New York, Delaware and Illinois, he came to
Springfield, Missouri, in September, 1868 intending to stay six months. He
got a contract to assist in classifying the million acre land grant of
that which is now the Frisco railway. This kept him in the saddle three
years and put the love of the Ozarks so effectively into him that he has
remained here ever since, with the exception of some eight years. After
classifying the lands, he was connected with the Springfield district of
the railroad lands nearly all the time for sixteen years, the last six
years in charge of the office. He added general real estate to his office
and did a large business for years. In 1893 he went to Chicago, Illinois,
and remained there until 1897. He was elected secretary of the Christian
Citizenship League and was sent all over the United States speaking in the
interest of the organization, addressing certainly three hundred and fifty
thousand people. In 1897 he returned to southwest Missouri and for four
years engaged in real estate and mining at Aurora, Lawrence county,
returning to Springfield in 1901, to his old line of realty, and here he
has since resided, but owing to deafness he has closed his real estate
office and devotes most of his time to drafting large county maps, at
which he is an expert. He also writes extensively for various newspapers
and other publications, mostly on subjects pertaining to the Ozarks, of
which he is an enthusiast. He is a versatile and forceful writer and his
articles are appreciated by a wide audience.
Mr. Haswell was married in Springfield, March 11, 1873, to Lauretta C.
Butler, and to this union seven children were born, of whoml three sons
and one daughter survive.
Politically, Mr. Haswell is a Republican, and he has been more or less
active in public affairs. He has served one term in the state Legislature,
representing in a commendable manner the Springfield district. He is a
member of the First Congregational church of Springfield.
GEORGE N. HAUN. There are many things which the modern husbandman is
learning that his ancestors also, mayhap, tillers of the soil, did not
know, or think they needed to know. We of today, in order to get the
greatest results from our labor, must know, among other things, what kind
of soil we are working, must know the difference between soil-forming
material and soil-forming agencies. The importance of distinguishing
between these two groups of factors is apparent to the close observer. The
tendency in the past has been to attach great importance to the former to
the neglect of the latter, and this has resulted in classifying together
soils of very dissimilar character, simply because they were derived from
the same rocks or from rocks which have been formed in the same manner.
One of the younger farmers of Greene county who is making an effort to
properly understand advanced problems of agriculture in all its phases is
George N. Haun, of Wilson township, and as a result he is making a
pronounced success as a general farmer.
Mr. Haun was born at Willard, Murray township, Greene county, Missouri,
November 2, 1881. He is a son of Newton W. and Nellie (Beal) -Haun. The
father of our subject was a native of Tennessee from which state he
emigrated to Missouri in an early day and began farming in Lawrence
county, but remained there only a short time, when he sold out and
purchased a farm in Greene county, near Willard. The mother of our subject
was born, reared and educated near Springfield, and the parents of our
subject were married in Greene county. To this union nine children were
born, namely: Andrew, deceased; Daniel lives in Willard; Mattie is
deceased; William lives near Willard; May is the wife of H. F. Emerson;
Walter lives at Willard; Ella is the wife of William Tatum; George N., of
this review; Laura is deceased. Newton W. Haun, father of the above named
children, grew to manhood in Tennessee, where he attended school and where
he engaged in mercantile pursuits for a while and there he was first
married, but his wife survived only a short time, and it was not long
thereafter until he came to Missouri.
George N. Haun grew to manhood on the home farm and received his early
education in the schools of Murray township, and when nineteen years of
age he entered the State Normal school, taking a two years' course in the
common branches, after which he went to Kansas and spent a summer on a
farm, returning to his home at Willard the following year and began his
career as farmer in Murray township on the estate left by his father who
died in 1890. This place consisted of one hundred and sixteen acres, being
a part of the old homestead. He got a good start here and in February,
1910, sold out and purchased one hundred acres in Wilson township, where
he now resides and is making a success as a general farmer and stock
raiser, having a productive and well-kept farm and a good set of
buildings.
Mr. Haun was married, December 22, 1907, to Juanita Staley, a daughter of
Weldon E. and Angie (Evans) Staley. Her father was a son of Alfred and
Lucinda (Brower) Staley, and was born in Randolph county, North Carolina,
July 9, 1840. His father represented his county in the Legislature of
North Carolina, and was a very prominent member of that body. In 1847 his
parents moved westward, making the long overland journey to Clinton
county, Missouri, and in 1849 settled in Greene county, this state, where
Weldon E. grew to manhood and has since resided. His father died in 1852.
Weldon E. Staley spent his boyhood days on the farm and he began life for
himself as a merchant at Cave Spring, which business he followed
successfully there until 1878, and since that time has devoted himself
exclusively to farming and stock raising, starting in Cass township with
one hundred and ninety acres, and, prospering by good management and close
application, he has added to his holdings until he now owns about three
hundred acres of valuable land, constituting one of the most desirable
farms in the northern part of Greene county, where he is regarded as a
substantial and worthy citizen and is a man of influence for the general
good of his community. He and Angie C. Evans were married, January 21,
1861. She is a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Evans, a honored old
family of Greene county. Her parents were also natives of North Carolina,
and were among the early immigrants to Greene county. To Weldon E. Staley
and wife ten children have been born, named as follows: William W.,
commonly known as "Major;" Mollie, Dollie, Fannie, J. Horace, Joseph A.,
Katherine, Bunch E., Effie, and Jaunita, the latter the youngest and the
wife of the subject of this sketch.
To Mr. and Mrs. Haunt two children have been born, namely Edward Staley,
and George Robert.
Politically, Mr. Haun is a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of
the Presbyterian church at Walnut Springs.
WALTER HAUN. In different localities the spirit of better things manifests
itself in different ways. Sometimes it takes the form of increasing the
fertility of the soil; at other places there is a demand for good roads;
it is shown in the desire to keep better live stock, to have more
attractive farm-yard surroundings or to grow larger crops. It -is shown in
rural improvement clubs, in home economic organizations, in the
consolidation of rural schools, in labor-saving appliances in the home in
making the home attractive, and in a general belief that farmers are
entitled to as pleasant surroundings as anyone else, and that a richer,
fuller life may be better developed in the country than in any other place
in the world. In Murray township, Greene county, one sees evidences of
progressiveness on every hand, well-kept farms, modernly appointed homes
and prosperous contented people. One of these careful farmers who owns a
valuable place and a comfortable home is Walter Haun, a representative of
an old and well-known family in this locality.
Mr. Haun was born in the above named township and county November 24,
1875. He is a son of Newton Wright and Nellie (Beal) Haun. Newton W. Haun
was born in Monroe count , eastern Tennessee, September 8, 1822. He is a
son of Abraham and Jane (Wright) Haun. Newton W. Haun was twice married,
first in eastern Tennessee, May 2, 1854, to Martha I. Heiskell, a native
of Tennessee, who died April 21, 1861. He was engaged. in the general
merchandise business at Sweetwater, Tennessee, for a number of, years,
finally selling out and removing to Lawrence county, Missouri, where he
engaged in general farming until 1867, when he sold out and came to Murray
township, Greene county, where he purchased two hundred and thirty-six
acres of good land, which he farmed successfully, until his death,
December 13, 1887. He was a man of great industry and sound judgment and
was rated among the most progressive farmers of the county. He was a good
citizen in every respect and was well liked. Politically he was a Democrat
and was active in party affairs, and before leaving Monroe county,
Tennessee, he held the office of surveyor one term, but would never accept
office in Missouri, preferring to give his sole attention to his large
farming and stock-raising industries. He was a faithful member of the
Cumberland Presbyterian church, was a charter member of the church of this
denomination at Walnut Spring and a ruling elder in the same from its
organization until his death. His family consisted of nine children by his
second marriage, namely: Daniel F., Mrs. Martha R. Blankenship, who lives
in this township, just east of Willard; William E. lives in Cass township,
Greene county; Mrs. May Emmerson, of Springfield; Walter, of this review;
Mrs. Ella Tatum, of Center township; George lives in Wilson township; and
two who died in infancy.
Newton Haun married Nellie Beal in Greene county, Missouri, for his second
wife. She was a daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Gibson) Beal. Daniel Beal
was born in North Carolina, May 19, 1799. He spent his boyhood in his
native state and, learned the cabinet maker's trade. When a young man he
went to, Giles county, Tennessee, where he and Nancy Gibson were married.
She was a daughter of George Gibson. Mr. Beal remained in Giles county,
Tennessee, until three of his children were born, and, in 1831, he moved
to Crawford county, Missouri, and settled near where Verona now stands.
Judge James White came the same time and there Mr. Beal made a clearing
and began his home, he and judge White being in partnership in the land,
and, deciding that the tract of land was not large enough for both of them
to operate he sold out to the judge and removed to Greene county, and in
the latter part of 1833 Mr. Beal settled in Campbell township, on Wilson
creek, four miles west of Springfield. He owned two hundred and
eighty-eight acres which he cleared up and improved and on which he spent
the remainder of his days. When he first came to Missouri the southwestern
part of the state was still the home of different tribes of Indians, among
whom he did considerable trading, and, finding him honest and
kind-hearted, they were very friendly with him. In politics, he was a
Democrat and both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Beal, all now deceased but one,
Allen Beal, who lives in Texas. The death of Daniel Beal occurred in the
prime of life, December 7, 1847. Nancy Gibson, his wife, was a native of
Tennessee, born near Madisonville, and she died in Greene county,
Missouri, on the home farm in the western part of the county.
The mother of the subject of this sketch, who died, January, 1915, was
born, April 7, 1839, near Springfield and here she grew to womanhood and
was educated in the old-time subscription schools. Although she attained
her seventy-fifth year she was active and had a good memory up until the
time of her death. She was well known to the older citizens and 1ed a life
fraught with good deeds.
Abraham and Jane (Wright) Haun, grandparents of our subject, were natives
of Tennessee, the former born in 1790 and he died in 1848. He had devoted
his life to general farming in Tennessee, where he and his wife both lived
and died.
Walter Haun was reared on the home farm in Murray township, and he
received his education in the public schools. On October 20, 1904, he
married Clara Middlemas, a native of New Zealand. She is the daughter of
Thomas J. and Elizabeth (Dickey) Middlemas. The father is deceased but the
mother is still living.
To Mr. and Mrs. Haun one child has been born, Doris Virginia Haun.
After his marriage, Mr. Haun moved to his present farm of eighty acres,
which is one of the finest farms of its size in Murray township, is
productive and well-improved, and he built a modern home in 1904, also an
up-to-date barn and a large cement silo, all his buildings commanding an
ideal view from the roadside and for some distance around, and his is one
of the most desirable places in the township. He also owns seven acres of
timbered land. He carries on general farming and stock raising, keeping a
good grade of various kinds of livestock. He is one of the hustling young
farmers of Greene county and is rapidly coming to the front. He takes a
just pride in his farm and set of buildings. Politically, he is a
Democrat, but no public man, and he and his wife are members of the
Presbyterian church at Willard, and are faithful in their attendance and
support of the same. They are popular with the best circles of this part
of the country, well liked by all who know them.
KIRK HAWKINS. While yet a young man Kirk Hawkins, lawyer of Springfield
and state senator, has won a brilliant reputation in one of the most
exacting of professions and as a public servant, and he presents to the
people of this senatorial district a record of which any man might well
boast and an ambition and energy worthy of the highest emulation. He has
built himself up by the sheer force of his character and his unswerving
honesty of purpose. He has been thoroughly tried as a legislator and has
won the best regards of his constituency while in that capacity, and,
judging from his past achievements, the future must necessarily be replete
with larger success and higher honors.
Mr. Hawkins was born at Ash Grove, Greene county, Missouri, July 19, 1880.
He is a son of B. F. and Alice (Kirkpatrick) Hawkins. His ancestors
emigrated from Virginia and North Carolina, by way of Tennessee, the
family eventually establishing their home in Greene county, Missouri. His
paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Littleberry Burnett, lived with her
parents at their homestead near Ashville, overlooking the beautiful French
Broad river, whose acres now form a part of the famed Vanderbilt
estate--Biltmore, the old home having been torn away to make room for one
of the most beautiful country residences in America. Her family being in
comfortable circumstances, the brothers were tutored in Latin, Greek and
mathematics at an early age, and were later prepared for the ministry and
other professions. But following the customs of the times it was
considered unnecessary to educate the girls and little Elizabeth was
expected to pick up what knowledge she could from listening to her
brothers recite and by associating with her elders until she was sent to a
girls' seminary near Knoxville, Tennessee. It was while attending school
there that she met the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. A tall,
gray-eyed, sober-minded youth, apprenticed to a tailor was this William
Pemberton Hawkins. His parents were either dead or in poor circumstances.
Miss Burnett who was just the opposite type-small, dark of hair and eyes,
vivacious and very attractive gave up her comfortable home and plighted
her troth with the young tailor, and moved with him to the wild and hilly
regions of southwest Missouri. The grandfather traveled around for some
time selling goods to the Indians, and finally established a store at
Stockton, Cedar county. During the latter fifties they located in Ash
Grove, Greene county. Although our subject's grandmother reared a large
family and endured the hardships of pioneer life and border warfare, she
became quite a student of the classics, especially Shakespeare. The Bible
was so familiar to her that she was able to quote at length chapter after
chapter. This worthy old pioneer couple spent the remaining years of their
lives at Ash Grove. Their youngest son was B. F. Hawkins, father of our
subject.
He grew to manhood at Ash Grove, where he was born in 1859, and there
attended the public schools, later spent a term in Morrisville College, in
Polk county, and prepared to enter medical college in St. Louis, but gave
up the idea. About this time he married Alice Kirkpatrick, a native of
Tennessee, who came to Ash Grove when young in years. To their union three
children were born, namely: Kirk, of this review; Maud, who has remained
at home with her parents; and Norris, who died in childhood.
The grandparents of our subject lived with their son, B. F. Hawkins until
their death, which occurred when Kirk was twelve years of age, and he is
indebted to his grandmother for his early education. She had unlimited
patience and took a great deal of interest in teaching the children. As a
result of her skill and perseverance, and through his eagerness to learn,
she had succeeded in teaching him to repeat the letters of the alphabet
and to count when only a little more than two years of age. B. F. Hawkins
and wife are still living in Ash Grove, where he is a successful merchant
and a leading citizen.
When he became of proper age, Kirk Hawkins was sent to the public schools
of his native town, between the ages of six and thirteen years. Later he
attended the old Ash Grove College two years, then by virtue of financial
sacrifice and self-denial on the part of his father and mother, the youth
entered Drury College at the age of fifteen. He was there four years,
completing the sophomore year in the college. He then entered the law
department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he made an
excellent record and from which institution he was graduated in 1902 with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and three days later he was admitted to
the bar of the supreme court of Michigan. Returning to Ash Grove for a
short visit, he intended to start to Texas to locate, but being without
funds he remained at home and was later elected justice of the peace on
the Democratic ticket, fall of 1902, although the township was normally
Republican by about one hundred votes. He was the youngest justice of the
peace in the state. About this time he was elected to succeed Alfred Page
as principal of the Ash Grove schools. For the next three years he was
very busy, being principal of the schools, justice of the peace, manager
of the opera house and attorney-at-law. Mr. Page later became judge of the
circuit court, He began his career as a lawyer about the same time as did
Mr. Hawkins and he tried his first case before the latter as justice of
the peace. At the end of three years young Hawkins, feeling that he had
accumulated enough capital to justify him to go to Texas as he had
originally planned, called on C. W. Hamlin, congressman from this
district, for the purpose of securing a letter of introduction to certain
members of Congress in Texas, but Mr. Hamlin offered him a law
partnership, which seemed better than taking a chance in a strange
country, so he located in Springfield and soon the law firm of Hamlin &
Hawkins was established, which continued successfully for four years. Then
Mr. Hamlin gave up the practice in order to devote his entire time to
Congressional matters. Subsequently our subject was engaged in the
practice of law with Judge T. J., Murray. He now occupies offices in the
Woodruff building and has been most successful as a lawyer and has a large
clientage.
In the spring of 1907 he was elected a member of the Springfield city
council from the first ward. During his term he prepared and introduced an
ordinance creating a public utilities commission for the city of
Springfield, and was made its first chairman. This commission was later
superceded by the state utilities commission under an act of the
Legislature. During a memorable deadlock over police appointments in Mayor
Ernst's administration, Mr. Hawkins introduced a bill to create a board of
police commissioners, the purpose of which was to take the Springfield
police force out of politics and place it under civil service rules. He
succeeded in passing the bill through the council, but it was vetoed by
the mayor. Only one vote was lacking to pass it over his veto. In the fall
of 1908 our subject was nominated and elected a member of the Missouri
house of representatives from the first district of Greene county, which
comprised the city of Springfield. This was then a strongly Republican
county, and his opponent on the Republican ticket was a man of prominence
who had been a member of the Legislature and of Congress. The majority
given Mr. Hawkins was one hundred and fifty-seven. During his term as
representative he assisted in establishing the Springfield court of
appeals, also the second division of the Greene county circuit court, the
state bureau of immigration at Springfield. As a member of the committee
on revision of the laws, he assisted in revising the state statutes, which
according to the provision of the constitution, are rewritten and
republished every ten years.
In the primary election of 1910, Mr. Hawkins became a candidate for the
Democratic nomination for state senator for the Twentieth district, and
received the nomination by a majority of over sixteen hundred votes. He
carried all the counties in the district except Vernon, losing it by only
eighty-six votes. In the general election he received a plurality of nine
hundred and thirty-three votes. He was the youngest senator, both in the
forty-sixth and forty-seventh general assemblies. In both branches of the
legislature he proved himself one of the most faithful and most capable
servants Greene county ever had, being ever ready to protect the interests
of the people and he seldom failed in an undertaking. He proved that he
was abundantly capable of filling the positions with credit to himself and
to all the people. He has always been very fortunate in his committee
assignments. During the forty-sixth general assembly he was appointed a
member of the committee on arrangements, which had charge of Governor
Major's inauguration. He was also made chairman on the committee of
municipal corporations, and was a member of the following prominent
committees: judiciary, railroads and internal improvements, life, fire and
other insurance, wills and probate law, labor and enrolled bills. He was
also appointed chairman of a special committee on the conservation of
water power sites. A great many important hearings were had by the
municipal corporation committee, among others, the Springfield-Joplin
charter; also the home rule bills for St. Louis. As state senator he was
author of the new state depository law, saving the taxpayers a fourth of a
million dollars in interest, and causing a half million dollars to be
deposited in Greene county banks; also author of the special road district
law; author and supporter of marry measures in behalf of organized labor;
author of a law protecting fruit growers and shippers against unscrupulous
commission merchants.
Several years ago our subject became vice-president of the Greene County
Abstract and Loan Company, which success has been due in no small measure
to his wise counsel.
Mr. Hawkins was married, October 4, 1905, to Nellie Nelson Viles, who was
born, reared and educated in Bolivar, Missouri, her birth having occurred
in 1884. She is a daughter of R. B. Viles, a banker and merchant of
Bolivar, and for many years one of the leading business men of Polk
county. Her mother was Amanda Nichols before her marriage. The union of
our subject and wife has been without issue. They have a pleasant home in
Springfield.
Mr. Hawkins is a member of the Young Men's Business Club, and was the
first chairman of the same; also belongs to the Country Club, the Beta
Theta fraternity, the Blue lodge of the Masonic Order, the Knights of
Pythias and the Modern Woodmen; also the Springfield Club and the
University Club. In all of the above social organizations he is popular,
being a good mixer, a man of courteous and obliging address and exemplary
habits.
JOHN CLEMENT HAYDEN. The Greene county bar has an able exponent in the
person of John Clement Hayden, of Ash Grove, formerly a well known and
successful, contractor. His habits of study, industry and critical
research, his ability to grasp and understand the law, to sift it,
segregate it, weigh, deduce, and apply it, make him an informed,
fortified, reliable and certain lawyer, and, necessarily and logically, a
successful lawyer. He is characterized by fairness in stating the position
of an adversary, and is strong enough and broad enough to seek or desire
no undue advantage. His utterances are expressive of a calm dignity, a
tolerant spirit, but a fixed purpose. In his discussion of the law he is
terse, clear, precise, incisive, and to the jury he is a cautious,
deliberate, impressive, reasoning advocate.
Mr. Hayden was born in Beetown, Grant county, Wisconsin, October 17, 1853.
He is descended from distinguished ancestry, of which was the illustrious
John Alden, one of America's favorite heroes, of Colonial history, song
and story. Mr. Alden, who resided at Duxborough, Massachusetts, was one of
the "Pilgrim fathers" of New England, who emigrated from England in the
Mayflower in the year 1620, and is supposed to have been a native of some
part of the island of Great Britain, although the name has probably been
more common in Germany. He was one of the signers of the compact formed
and solemnly adopted in the cabin of the Mayflower in Cape Cod harbor on
November 15th of the year of emigration, and the last male survivor of
them. He was about twenty-two years of age when he arrived, a single man,
and it seems that he was an intimate of the family of Capt. Miles
Standish. He was the stripling who first leaped upon the rock, as
mentioned by President Adams in a certain communication. In 1623 he
married Priscilla Mullins, a daughter of William Mullins, of Molines, one
of the Pilgrims who died soon after their arrival. There is an interesting
tradition relating to that period of his life, which is felicitously
celebrated in Longfellow's poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish," with
which all students of literature are familiar. For a few years John Alden
lived in Plymouth, and then settled at Duxborough, on a farm, and it is a
remarkable fact that these lands have remained in possession of his
descendants ever since, and is regarded as one of the best farms in the
vicinity of that town. He built his house on a rise of land near Eagle
Tree Point, where the ruins of his well are still to be seen. He had,
probably, eleven children, but only eight lived to enter the marriage
state, four sons and four daughters, namely: John, Joseph, David,
Jonathan, Elizabeth, Sarah, Ruth and Mary. Elizabeth married William
Paybody, of Little Compton, Rhode Island, and died on May 1, 1717, at the
age of ninety-four years, leaving numerous posterity; at the time of her
death her granddaughter Bradford was a grandmother. John Alden was an
assistant to all the governors of the colony, except Carver, for
thirty-six years without interruption. He was elected to this office, and
for the last twenty years of his life, from 1666 to 1686, he was senior
assistant. From 1641 to 1649, inclusively, he was chosen to represent the
town of Duxborough in the general court of the old colony. His death
occurred on September 12, 1687, probably in his ninetieth year. He was a
man of deep religious sentiment, and he did a great deal for the general
good of the colony, throughout which he was popular; in fact, all the
early Aldens, descendants of the Pilgrims, seemed to have been highly
esteemed. They filled many important offices, and many of them were
distinguished professionally, as physicians, teachers, etc., and as
subjects of quite extensive notices, inscriptions and epitaphs.
Ruth Alden, third daughter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden, married,
on May 12, 1657, John Bass, of Braintree, Massachusetts. He was a son of
Deacon Samuel Bass. To John and Ruth Bass seven children were born. Her
death occurred on October 12, 1674, when about forty years of age, her
husband surviving until September 12, 1716, dying at the age of
eighty-three years. The youngest of the daughters of John and Ruth Bass
married, on January 7, 1692, Ephraim Thayer, of Braintree, and to them
fourteen children were born, all of whom grew to maturity, were married
and reared families of their own. The death of Mrs. Thayer occurred in
1751. From her children sprang a numerous race. Mr. Thayer was a man of
considerable property and was highly esteemed. According to the church
records, his death occurred on January 15, 1757, in his eighty-eighth
year, death being by accident. When he was eighty-four years old he
married his second wife, Mrs. Mary Kingman, a widow. His second daughter,
Hannah Thayer, was twice married, first to Nathaniel Blanchard, of
Braintree, and to them eleven children were born. Their second daughter,
Hannah Blanchard, was one of the one hundred and thirty-two grandchildren
of Mrs. Thayer, and she was married on November 26, 1762, to Clement
Hayden, of Braintree, who afterward moved to what is now called West Gray.
An apple tree that he planted before the Revolutionary war was still
standing on the farm he moved onto at West Gray, at the close of the Civil
war, being at that time a century old. His eldest daughter, Jerusha
Hayden, married James Humphrey. Samuel Hayden, grandfather of Jeremiah
Hayden, was born in England about the middle of the sixteenth century.
Clement Hayden, father of Jeremiah, was born in Braintree, Massachusetts,
in 1708, died in 1785, at the age of seventy-seven years. He married
Hannah Blanchard, who died in 1786. Jeremiah Hayden, born on August 23,
1768, married on January 2, 1794, Margaret Davis, who was born March 26,
1774, died September 14, 1841. Abigail Hayden was born on March 11, 1755,
died on September 7, 1815. Gideon Hayden was born on December 19, 1796,
died February 15, 1824. Jeremiah Hayden, Jr., born on September 28, 1798,
died on September 15, 1818. John Hayden, born on September 19, 1800.
Esther Hayden was born on December 19, 1802. Ebenezer Hayden was born on
October 30, 1804. M. D. Hayden was born on August 16, 1806. Margaret
Hayden was born on September 3, 1808, died on July 12, 1810. Clement
Hayden, born on March 11, 1811. Joseph H. Hayden is mentioned in the
following paragraph. Abigail Hayden was born on December 3, 1816, and died
on February 19, 1843.
John C. Hayden, of this sketch, is the son of Joseph H. and Elizabeth A.
(Pritchett) Hayden. The father was born at Raymond, Maine, November 18,
1814, and was a son of Jeremiah and Margaret (Davis) Hayden. Jeremiah
Hayden was born at Braintree, Massachusetts, August 23, 1768, and was a
son of Clement and Hannah (Blanchard) Hayden. Clement Hayden was born in
Braintree in 1708, and was a son of Samuel Hayden, who was born in England
about 1650, as before indicated. He emigrated from his native land about
the close of the sixteenth century and settled near Braintree,
Massachusetts. His son, Clement Hayden, was undoubtedly a farmer in that
locality, and his death occurred in 1785, and the death of his wife
occurred the following year. She was Hannah Blanchard before her marriage.
Jeremiah Hayden married Margaret Davis on June 2, 1774. She was born on
March 26, 1774, and her death occurred September 14, 1841.
Joseph H. Hayden, father of our subject, grew to manhood in his native New
England, and he received a good education in the schools of Portland,
Maine, graduating there when about eighteen years of age. When twenty-two
years of age he undertook the long and prolix journey to the frontier
country west of the Father of Waters, in 1836, arriving in Pike county,
Missouri, locating among the early pioneers. He taught school there for a
number of years and, in 1843, removed to Grant county, Wisconsin, where he
continued teaching. He was a very successful and popular educator, and
engaged in that field of endeavor for a period of thirty years. Finally,
abandoning the school room, he took up farming, which he followed
successfully in the last-named county until 1873, when he sold out and
returned to Pike county, Missouri, where he resumed farming, which he
continued along general lines until 1892, or until his death. He was an
influential and well known man in both the above-named counties.
Politically, he was a Democrat until 1856, when he espoused the cause of
the Republican party, and remained loyal to that the rest of his life. He
was, in early life, a Baptist, later a member of the Methodist church. He
and Elizabeth A. Pritchett were married about 1841. She was born on March
20, 1826, in Kentucky, and died in July, 1912. She was a woman of
commendable Christian character.
John C. Hayden received a good education, first passing through the public
schools, and later studied one year at Baker University, Ogden City,
Kansas. When a young man he learned the stonecutter's trade, which he
followed for twenty-five years, as a cutter and contractor, in Kansas and
Missouri, and was very successful in this line of endeavor. He built a
number of substantial bridges in the Sunflower state, and was ever known
as a skillful, careful and honest workman. In 1889 he came to Ash Grove,
Greene county, Missouri, where he has since resided. He continued
contracting until 1894, when, believing that a professional career was
more to his liking, and for which he seemed to have a natural bent, he
took up the law, and this has since claimed his attention. In 1894 he was
elected justice of the peace. He began the study of law during his spare
moments, made rapid progress, and in due course of time was admitted to
the bar. While justice he discharged his duties in a manner that reflected
much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. His
decisions showed a deep insight into the basic principles of jurisprudence
and they seldom met reversal at the hands of higher tribunals. During his
incumbency of his office he tried over four hundred cases. He has been
very successful in the general practice of law, and has figured
conspicuously in the important cases in Ash Grove and vicinity for many
years and is well known as an attorney over the western part of the
county, where he has a large and satisfactory clientage. He represents the
following insurance companies and does an extensive business in this line:
Phoenix of London, Fidelity-Phoenix of New York, Niagara of New York,
National of Hartford, Connecticut, Springfield Fire and Marine, and the
Queen of New York; also the Fidelity Casualty Company of New York, and a
bonding company.
Mr. Hayden was married, June 25, 1890, to Kitty DeMoore, who was born in
Tennessee, October 23, 1863. She received a good education, and came from
her native state to Missouri when young, locating at Ash Grove.
To our subject and wife two children have been born, namely: Ezelia V.,
born June 2, 1896, is attending the Ash Grove high school, from which he
will graduate with the class of 1915; George Marlowe, born June 16, 1902.
Politically Mr. Hayden is a Republican and is more or less active in party
affairs. Religiously he belongs to the Christian church. Fraternally he is
a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he is at present keeper of
records and seal in the local lodge; also is past chancellor. He belongs
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having passed the, chairs in the
local lodge. He has won a host of warm friends since coming to Greene
county by his straightforward, honorable course and is one of the most
representative citizens of Ash Grove and vicinity.
ERNEST D. HAYNES. It is not too much to say that it is possible for every
able-bodied young man to prepare against those periods of misfortune and
ill luck which await all mankind somewhere down the path of life, but
some, instead of doing so, trust to luck, which is an elusive and
capricious thing, and so, believing in the optimism of the future, they
spend all on the present. The late Ernest D. Haynes, of Springfield, it
seems, was wiser and his prudence urged him to pursue a different course,
which, all contemplative minds will agree, is the wiser, and therefore his
example is to be commended to the younger generation of readers of this
work whose destinies are yet matters for future years to determine and who
are hesitating at the parting of the ways, apparently unable to determine
which course to pursue.
Mr. Haynes was born in Putnam county, Missouri, May 21, 1867. He was a son
of Simon and Mary Belle (Smith) Haynes, the father a native of Missouri
and the mother of Kentucky. He is now living in Arkansas, the mother of
our subject being deceased. Simon Haynes has been a real estate dealer and
promoter, and very active in politics, and has held several county offices
on the Democratic ticket. His family consisted of four children, namely:
Mattie M., deceased; Cora is living; Myrtle is living; and Ernest D., of
this sketch.
Our subject grew to manhood in Putnam county and received a good common
school education. He was engaged in mining for several years during his
younger days, in Utah, interested in gold and silver mines. Returning East
he began railroading in Ft. Scott, Kansas, becoming an engineer on the
Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis road, which is now under lease by the
Frisco system, and he continued to work as such until 1901, when he went
into the coal and fuel business in Ft. Scott, under the firm name of E. D.
Haynes Coal Company, remaining there, enjoying a large business, until
1909, when he went to West Plains, Missouri, and purchased the ice plant
there. Selling out later he bought a hack and buggy line in Ft. Scott, but
subsequently returned to West Plains, where he remained two years, and in
1910 located in Springfield as manager of the Consumers Ice Company, and
later bought the Clinton Ice & Fuel Company which he operated with his
usual success until his death, having changed the firm name to the Haynes
Ice & Fuel Company.
Mr. Haynes was married on December 16, 1891, in Park City, Utah, to
Margaret Nolan, who was a native of New Jersey, and a daughter of Philip
and Mary (Lyons) Nolan, both natives of New Jersey. Mr. Nolan was for a
number of years engaged in the woolen mill business, and he and his wife
spent their lives in their native state and died there. Their family
consisted of ten children, six of whom are still living.
To Mr. and Mrs. Haynes only one child was born, Myrtle Haynes, whose
birth, occurred on October 24, 1892. She was given good educational
advantages. She married William M. Hamilton, who is in partnership with
Mrs. Margaret Haynes in the fuel business at 331 North Campbell street,
Springfield, under the firm name of the Hamilton Ice and Fuel Company,
with yards at Campbell and Water streets. They have built up a large and
growing business and are making a pronounced success. Promptness and
honesty of service is their motto.
Politically, Ernest D. Haynes was a Democrat. Fraternally, he was a member
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
The death of Mr. Haynes occurred on October 31, 1912. He was known as a
man of industry, making a success of whatever he turned his attention to,
and he numbered his friends by the scores wherever he was known.
HUBERT H. HAYWARD. Many appellations have been applied to the present
epoch or cycle of the world's history, such as the electric or steam age,
none of the terms, it seems being broad enough, but if we should christen
it the age of invention, we would evidently not go far amiss, as any
contemplative mind will readily agree. If we look at the far-reaching
effects of the inventions of only a few such wizards as Edison, Tesla,
Bell and Maxim, we would see the appropriateness of the last named phrase
to this the greatest age since the dawn of the world's history. But as in
other walks of life, not all the inventions that have blessed the race
have been made by men bearing names which have become household words the
world over. Here and there, in every civilized nation may be found some
one outside of "fame's eternal camping ground" who has by his genius or
talent or, perchance, by merely commonplace hard work produced some device
that has lightened or facilitated man's work, and therefore added his
little quota to the great aggregate force that is lifting from humanity's
shoulders "the burden of the world," of which the poet, Markham, wrote in
"The Man with the Hoe." Belonging to this class of minor inventors who
have accomplished definite results is Hubert H. Hayward, president of the
Hayward Wrench Company, of Springfield, and skilled machinist and talented
inventor.
Mr. Hayward was born on June 22, 1882, in Sac township, Dade county,
Missouri. He is a son of Albert Clinton and Harriet A. (Rector) Hayward.
The father was born in Sac township, Dade county, on July 27, 1841, his
parents being among the pioneer settlers there. The paternal grandfather
was Edwin Clinton Hayward. He was born in New York and served as
apprentice in the shipyard for several years; also worked in the United
States navy yard. He was born in 1811, and died at the age of
seventy-eight years. Grandmother Hayward's maiden name was Caroline Smith.
She was born in Roane county, east Tennessee in 1824, and died at the age
of sixty years. The maternal grandmother was Angeline Butler, who was born
on May 14, 1829, in Anderson county, east Tennessee, and is still living,
and enjoying good health for one of her age.
Albert C. Hayward, father of our subject, grew to manhood in Dade county,
and in early life learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in his
vicinity in connection with farming. He prospered with advancing years and
became owner of a fine farm of about five hundred acres there. He has
spent the major part of his life in his native county, where he now lives
retired and is one of the most widely and favorably known men in that
county. He was for three terms assessor of Dade county, which position he
filled with credit and efficiency. He has always been a loyal Republican,
and is a stanch member of the Christian church at Bona, Missouri. His
wife, Harriet A. Rector, was born on May 21, 1848, in eastern Tennessee,
but when only six years of age she made the long overland journey in wagon
from that country to Missouri, the family locating in Dade county. She was
fairly well educated for that period and she taught school several years
in Dade county before her marriage. She is a member of the Church of
Christ at Bona, near which village the parents of our subject are spending
their declining years in their pleasant home. To them six children were
born, namely: Mrs. Ina Perkins lives in Cedar county, Missouri; Albert C.
is an attorney and lives in Springfield, Missouri; Ada is teaching school
in Dade county; Hubert H., subject of this sketch; Henry is operating the
old home farm; Homer lives in Springfield and is treasurer of the Hayward
Wrench Company.
Hubert H. Hayward spent his boyhood days in Dade county with his parents
on the farm, and he received his education in the township schools, and
the high school at Everton, Missouri. Having natural inclination to the
machinist's trade he learned the same in the school of practical
experience and hard knocks, and he followed his trade in Dade county and
in Springfield for a number of years. He also learned the carpenter's
trade, at which he worked for some time in his native county and other
places with the highest honors of his trade in Dade county. He moved to
Springfield in 1914, where he has since resided. His practical knowledge
of the machinist's trade enabled him, by careful and well laid plans and
thoughtful diagrams to invent a new wrench on which he secured a United
States patent on November 4, 1913, and for the manufacture of which he
organized a $100,000 stock company, which has been incorporated as the
Hayward Wrench Company, of which he is president, and his brother Homer,
vice-president. They have offices at 505 Woodruff Building, Springfield,
Missouri, and they are making the wrench in large numbers in Chicago,
Illinois, and placing it on the market, which is finding a very ready
sale, as its merits ate made known over the United States and Canada. It
is an automatic combination wrench of which the mechanism and advantages
over all other wrenches speak for themselves, and is the only combination
nut and pipe wrench made that is self-adjustable. It will fit any bolt,
nut or pipe without having to be adjusted. It is invaluable as a ratchet
wrench. It works on the same principle as ratchet, and many places where
there is little room to work it is indispensable. It will not crush pipe,
but the tighter one pulls, the tighter the jaws clamp the nut or pipe with
equal force on each side. It is also most desirable as a pipe wrench,
being so constructed that it will not mash or crush the pipe, although
holding it very tightly. Most pipe wrenches slip after hold breaks, but
this wrench will not slip, for the tighter one pulls the better the wrench
holds. The jaws come together with equal force and the teeth in each one
go straight in when the operator pulls on it so that it is impossible for
it to slip. It is a handy, automatic combination, all-purpose wrench for
the machinist, engineer, plumber, chauffeur and farmer. It is simple,
handy and always ready. It is made of 80 to 90 carbon drop forged tool
steel and constructed with links like the chain of a bicycle, and withal,
is strong, durable and inexpensive, and is one of the most wonderful
inventions of its kind in the history of the world. The construction and
mechanism of its different parts are so perfectly arranged and fitted
together that each function has part of the work to do. There is no
mechanical science or mathematical rule discovered by which to figure out
how to get the strength, length and size in the double-compound, balance
leverage connection, in the different sized wrenches.
Hubert H. Hayward was married on February 17, 1902, to Ora Frieze,
daughter of Richard Denton Frieze and Emily (Perkins) Frieze, both natives
of Dade county, Missouri, where they grew to maturity, were educated,
married and established their home, Mr. Frieze becoming a prominent farmer
there, owning a fine farm of over two hundred acres, in fact he spent his
life on the farm on which he was reared, dying in April, 1908. Politically
he was a Democrat, and he belonged to the Church of Christ, to which his
widow also belongs, she having remained on the home place. To these
parents seven children were born, namely: Ora, wife of Mr. Hayward of this
sketch; Claude lives in Dade county; Maude is the wife of Flavin Davis;
Macy L. is the wife of A. R. Lee, who lives in Dade county Jessie is the
wife of C. E. Martin, who lives in Jasper county, Missouri; Ernest, who at
this time is a young man of eighteen years of age, lives with his mother
on the homestead in Dade county; Norma, wife of J. C. Tygart, lives in
Dade county, Missouri.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hayward eight children have been born, named as follow: La
Vernice, Cleo, Theta, Clinton and Denton, twins; Wilbur, Raymond and
Maude.
Politically Mr. Hayward is a hard-working Republican. He belongs to Lodge
No. 9160, Modern Woodmen of America, at Dadeville, Missouri. He and his
wife are members of the Church of Christ at Bona, Dade county.
SAMUEL W. HEADLEE. As one reviews the history of Greene county and looks
into the past to see what people were prominent in its early development,
he will find that for more than three-quarters of a century, the period
covering its first settlement to the present time, the Tennesseeans have
been closely connected with the progress and advancement of this section
of the state. Wild was the region into which they came. Its forests stood
in their primeval strength, the prairie land was still unbroken, and the
Indians still roamed through the woodlands and over the plains, seeking
the deer and lesser game which could be found in abundance. The Headlee
family, while not so early as some, yet figured in the early-day
development of this locality. The late Samuel W. Headlee was of this
number, and for a long lapse of years he was one of the most prominent men
of the county, playing well his part in the local drama of civilization,
not only clearing and developing the land, but aiding in the establishment
of schools and churches, and was a public servant of unquestioned ability
and integrity; in fact, the various members of this sterling old family
have ever manifested the characteristic thrift of the emigrants from the
old state of "Hickory" Jackson, and justly entitled to representation in
this work.
Samuel W. Headlee was born in, Maury county, Tennessee, March 6, 1823. He
was a son of Caleb and Mary (Steele) Headlee. His parents were from North
Carolina, but emigrated to Tennessee in a very early day, where they lived
until 1836, when they emigrated overland to Missouri and settled in Greene
county, began life in true pioneer fashion, and here Caleb Headlee spent
the rest of his life engaged in farming, dying in 1847. Samuel W. Headlee
was thirteen years old when he accompanied his parents to Greene county.
He grew to manhood on the farm and received such educational advantages as
the schools of those early days afforded, and for some time taught school
in this county. In 1850 having caught the "gold fever," he crossed the
great western plains to California, where he spent four years, engaging
successfully in mining. Upon his return here he purchased the old
homestead upon which he spent the rest of his life, and was regarded as
one of the county's leading farmers of that period. He was elected to the
lower house of the state Legislature by the Benton Democracy, re-elected
in 1862 and in 1864. In 1866 he was elected by the Republicans to the
state Senate, and in 1872, he, to heal the breaches in his party, became a
candidate for the lower house, and was elected by a handsome majority. He
was again elected to the Legislature in 1876. In all that period of
sixteen years he voted as his conscience and judgment dictated, and won
for himself the applause and approval of all good men, doing much for the
general good of his county and looking carefully after the interest of his
constituents. He was a faithful and conscientious servant of the people,
and his long retention in important official positions would indicate that
the people here reposed implicit confidence in his ability and honesty.
During the Civil war he took an active part in the service of the Union
and in 1862, to that end, was commissioned captain of a militia company.
From 1863 to the close of the war, he was captain in the Sixteenth
Missouri Cavalry of the Federal army. In 1874 he was complimented by a
nomination by the people's committee as their candidate for
lieutenant-governor upon the ticket headed by Major Gentry. After retiring
from public life he devoted his attention to general farming on a large
scale, and in the decline of a long, useful and honorable life enjoyed the
satisfaction of peace with himself and the full confidence of those who
knew him best. His death occurred on February 6, 1900.
Samuel W. Headlee was married May 2, 1855, to Emily L. Armor, a daughter
of Washington and Nancy S. (Kerr) Armor, natives of Georgia and North
Carolina, respectively. They immigrated to Missouri in 1846 and settled in
Polk county. After remaining there until about 1848, the Armor family
removed to Greene county and here the parents spent the rest of their
lives, being long since deceased.
To Samuel W. Headlee and wife nine children were born, namely: Warren E.,
born on July 27, 1857; Arthur B., born on April 12, 1858, died in infancy;
Margaret E., born on July 4, 1859; Blondville D., born on September 4,
1861; Samuel M., born on February 5, 1865, died on August 14, 1887; James
W., born on July 28, 1867; Claude L., born on November 20, 1871; Cora M.,
born on June 16, 1873, died on November 20, 1903; she was the wife of
Avery Robards, and to their union one child was born, Jessie Margaret,
whose birth occurred September 30, 1903; she was taken by her grandmother
when six weeks old and is still living in her home. Jessie E. Headlee,
youngest of our subject's children, was born on September 13, 1875, and
died on August 26, 1899.
Claude Leslie Headlee was born on November 20, 1871, on the home farm in
Franklin township, Greene county, and here he grew to manhood and received
his education in the district schools. He has been a life-long farmer;
however, he learned the carpenter's trade when a young man and has since
followed it to some extent. He is the owner of one hundred and thirty
acres of good land, eighty-five acres of which is tinder cultivation. He
lives but a short distance from the old residence where he was born. He
married, on January 24, 1879, Lona M. Knighten, a daughter of, Ammon and
Mary E. (Dotson) Knighten. Mr. Knighten is one of Franklin township's
leading farmers and stockmen, and formerly was engaged in blacksmithing
and mercantile pursuits at Hickory Barrens, this county. A complete sketch
of himself and family appears on another page of this volume. To Claude L.
Headlee and wife three children have been born, namely: Arthur Harry,
Samuel Leslie and William B. Politically, Mr. Headlee is a Republican. His
wife belongs to the Baptist church at Pleasant Hope, Polk county.
Blondville D. Headlee, son of the immediate subject of this sketch, was
born on September 4, 1861, on the homestead in Franklin township, this
county, and here he spent his boyhood and was educated in the common
schools, remaining on his father's farm until he was thirty years of age.
On February 3, 1892, he married Nanny Norman, who was born near Brookline,
Greene county. She is a daughter of William and Mary (Gibson) Norman. To
this union two children have been born, Frank and Grace, both at home. Mr.
Headlee has devoted his life to general farming, making a specialty of
grain and live stock. He owns a well-improved place of one hundred and ten
acres. Politically, he is a Republican. His wife is a member of the
Cumberland Presbyterian church at Mt. Comfort. Her father, William Norman,
was born on August 4, 1823, in Maury county, Tennessee, and in an early
day he came with his family from his native state to Missouri and settled
in Greene county, developing a farm in Brookline township, where he owned
a large tract of land and was a successful farmer. Here he spent the rest
of his life, his death occurring October 24, 1895, three miles from
Nichols junction, in the western part of the county. Politically, he was a
Democrat, and was a member of the Brookline Congregational church. His
wife was born in Tennessee and died in this county in 1879. She was a
faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and was buried in the cemetery
at Brookline. To Mr. and Mrs. Norman eight children were born, three, of
whom are now living--Frank N., who makes his home in Oklahoma City;
Marshall is a resident of Shawnee, Oklahoma; and Nanny, wife of Blondville
D. Headlee.
James Ward Headlee was born on the old homestead here, and here he grew to
manhood and was educated in the public schools at Hickory Barrens. He,
too, has devoted his life to general farming, and is now owner of a very
productive place of eighty-three acres, which lies close to the old
homestead. He learned the blacksmith's trade when he was a boy and this he
has followed to some extent ever since, following the same fourteen years
in connection with farming, maintaining his shop at his home place. He is
a natural mechanic, and is regarded as a very highly skilled blacksmith.
On December 2, 1894, he married Dora Kesterson, a native of Greene county,
and a daughter of David C. and Minerva (Ketcherside) Kesterson, natives of
Ohio and Georgia, respectively. They came first to Arkansas, and from
there to Missouri, locating on a farm in Franklin township, Greene county,
where Mr. Kesterson spent the remainder of his days engaged in general
farming. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company K, Second Arkansas
Cavalry, was appointed second corporal of his regiment on April 28, 1864,
and was mustered out of the service and honorably discharged at the close
.of the war at Memphis, Tennessee. He was in the command of Col. John E.
Phelps, of Springfield, Missouri. Mr. Kesterson was born on March 18,
1837, and died on November 8, 1911. He was a tanner by trade, which he
followed in Arkansas and also for a time after coming to Greene county,
but after his marriage devoted his attention to farming. He came to this
county immediately after the close of the war, in 1865. His wife was born
on September 14, 1841. She was a daughter of James and Genette (Scabberry)
Ketcherside. Her death occurred in November, 1903. He died at the
Soldiers' Home at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, while her death occurred on the
farm in Franklin township. James and Genette (Scabberry) Ketcherside were
both natives of Tennessee, but from that state they moved to Georgia,
where they spent the remaining years of their lives. David C. Kesterson's
family consisted of seven children, of whom Mrs. Dora Headlee was the
fourth in order of birth. She has three brothers living at this
writing--John E., of Kansas City; Arthur U., who is farming near Hickory
Barrens, this county; and Arvel D., of Los Angeles, California.
Politically, Mr. Headlee is a Republican, and he belongs to the Cumberland
Presbyterian church at Mt. Comfort, to which Mrs. Headlee also belongs.
The Headlees have always enjoyed excellent reputations, being neighborly
and honorable in all the relations of life.
FRANK E. HEADLEY. Life is in the open country. Life is in the growing
grass, the waving fields of wheat, the springing corn. Life is in the
trees and birds, and in the developing animals of the farm. Any man who
works with the land, who feeds a field and watches the result, gains a
real fundamental knowledge of the underlying foundation on which tests all
our civilization. It makes him a sober man, a thoughtful man, a reverent
man, and, if he experiments wisely, a hopeful optimist. Life is where
things are born and live and grow. On the farm is real life. It is not to
be found in the city. Realizing these facts, Frank E. Headley, proprietor
of "Spring Lawn Farm," of Franklin township, Greene county, is contented
with his environment and is one of the most progressive of the younger
generation of agriculturists in this section of the state.
Mr. Headley was born July 7, 1885, in Springfield, Missouri, and is a
scion of one of the prominent old families of Greene county, his father
for many years having been a prominent business man of the Queen City. He
is a son of Frank E., Sr., and Ida (McDaniel) Headley. The father was born
at Groveport, near Columbus, Franklin county, Ohio, September 5, 1852. He
was a son of Aaron C. and Hannah (Ebberly) Headley. He was educated in the
public schools in Columbus, Ohio, and there resided until he was seventeen
years of age, coming with his parents to Springfield, Missouri, in
October, 1870, the family locating at 737 North Jefferson street, and our
subject was born in the first house north of the old homestead. The father
of our subject and his brothers were in the game and produce business for
six months. June, 1871, found them penniless, and Frank E., Sr., then
accepted a clerkship in the grocery house of N. Kelley at a salary of
twenty dollars per month. He worked there about three years and six
months, then clerked for Sutter & Townsend for six months. He then bought
out Mr. Townsend's interest, and the firm became Sutter & Headley for four
years; then Oscar M. Headley bought out Sutter's interest, and the firm
became Headley Brothers. Later the firm became the Headley Grocery
Company, the father of our subject remaining active in this business until
1902, having carried on an extensive retail and wholesale trade over a
wide territory; in fact, they did the largest retail grocery business in
the Southwest. Frank E. Headley, Sr., sold out in 1902 and entered the
hotel business at Aurora, Missouri, where he remained two years, then sold
out and bought the farm on which his son, our subject, now resides, the
"Spring Lawn Farm," containing two hundred and fifty acres. He was a
successful breeder of fine live stock, especially registered Jersey cattle
and Percheron horses, keeping several blooded imported Percheron
stallions, one of them, "Carabas," being the first draft stallion ever
brought to this country, and was exhibited at numerous fairs. "Emperor"
was another noted horse which he imported and kept on his farm here, and
several others also became famous, among them being "Spot Light,"
"Obsidian," "White Stockings", and "Colossus." Mr. Headley purchased his
farm here from George H. McCann, who first started the handling of blooded
Jersey cattle here, which he brought from the Hood farm of Jerseys, of
Lowell, Massachusetts. In the herd was a pure St. Lambert bred bull,
"Exile of Spring Lawn." General Holland owned this farm and improved it
during the Civil war period, assisted by his neighbors. His corn crop was
stolen by the soldiers who occupied the county at that time. General
Holland built a dwelling house here of logs, and our subject has built a
club house just east of the residence, using the same logs that the
General used in his house, the old Holland home. The club house is fitted
up in a modern style and is an attractive place.
Frank E. Headley, Sr., war one of five children, four sons and one
daughter. The sons all became successful business men. Their parents spent
their last years in Springfield. Frank E., Sr., was a Democrat in his
earlier years, and in 1879 was elected by this party to the city council
from the second ward, and was re-elected in 1882. He was also a member of
the school board of Springfield and helped elect Prof. J. Fairbanks as
county superintendent of schools. Later in life he was councilman from the
sixth ward for several terms. In later life, for personal reasons, he
became a Republican. He was a member of Calvary Presbyterian church at
Springfield. His health failing, he went to California in the hopes of
restoring same, and died, in that state October 15, 1906, at the age of
sixty-seven years, after a successful, useful and honorable life. His
wife, Ida McDaniel, was a native of Carthage, Missouri, and was a daughter
of. Francis Marion McDaniel, of that city. Her death occurred when the
subject of this sketch was two weeks old, July 21, 1885.
Frank E. Headley, Jr., the only child of his parents, grew to manhood in
Springfield, and was educated in the schools of this city. Later he took a
short course in the agricultural department of the Missouri State
University, where he spent two years, 1903 and 1904. He then assisted his
father in the operation of the home farm in Franklin township, and he now
owns and operates "Spring Lawn Farm," being regarded as one of the most
progressive and scientific general farmers and stock raisers in Greene
county. He has made many important modern improvements, spending over one
thousand dollars on fences, built a cement silo and a cement chicken
house. The farm contains a lake, fed by natural springs, and this our
subject has kept well stocked with trout and catfish and other varieties
of the finny tribe. He has a large and up-to-date barn for his horses and
cattle, sanitary, furnishing every comfort, and is painted white. He has
also built an attractive stone pump house in the rear of his home. It is
built of stone and arched over and has open sides. The water is forced to
the stock barns by hydraulic pressure. Part of the place might well be
called a park, for our subject has taken much pains in its rustic detail,
and has two deer on a part of his land. The farm has excellent water in
abundance, and is an attractive, valuable and desirable place in every
respect, one of the choice farms of the Southwest. In addition to raising
thoroughbred registered Jersey cattle, Mr. Headley also raises White
Leghorn chickens; also keeps some fine collies, Percheron horses and
Berkshire hogs. At present he has forty-five head of pure jerseys, twelve
to twenty-one pounds butter test. He has shipped cattle all over the
United States, especially to Arizona, Utah and Idaho and various places in
the Southwest, and over Oklahoma and Missouri. He has a modern and
beautiful home, a bathhouse at the side of the lake, spring house, ice
house and other improvements found only on the best American farms. In
1913 he built a substantial modem store and office building in
Springfield, with a one-hundred-seventeen and a half-foot front and one
hundred feet deep. It is known as the Frank E. Headley block, and is well
located at 214-222 West Walnut street. It was begun June 13, 1913, and
finished in February, 1914.
Mr. Headley was married March 7, 1911, to Nellie B. Armstrong, of
Hamilton, Missouri. She is a young lady of education and refinement, and
is a representative of a highly esteemed family. To Mr. and Mrs. Headley
one child has been born, Frank E. Headley, Jr., born June 12, 1913.
Politically, Mr. Headley is a Republican, but is not active in public
affairs, being essentially a home man and preferring to give his attention
to his large farming interests and his live stock especially. He is a
member of Calvary Presbyterian church of Springfield, and has been a
deacon in the same for the past five years. He is a young man whom it is a
pleasure to meet, being genial, sociable, obliging and hospitable, is well
read and a genteel gentleman in all the relations of life.