HOWARD COUNTY MISSOURI BIOGRAPHIES (Prairie Township) ************************************************************************ File contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Kathy Bowlin USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ************************************************************************ PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP _________________________________ Pg 568 CAPT. JOHN W. BAGBY, attorney at law and notary public. John BAGBY, the father of John W., was a native of Virginia, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. After the close of that struggle he settled in Scott county, Kentucky, where he married and lived until he came to this county with his family, in 1827. His wife was formerly a Miss Mildred WARD, and of this union John W. was born in the county where they resided in Kentucky, September 13, 1827. In early youth the son received such an education as could be had in the log school houses of those days, and when fifteen years of age went to work with his uncle, William BAGBY, in the carpentering and wagon and carriage making business, which he has followed, with considerable intervals of time devoted to other pursuits, from then until within the last few years. However, in 1846 he enlisted in Captain John R. SMITH's company, designed for the Mexican war, and followed the stars and stripes into the land of the cactus and pine to the city of Mexico. He was honorably discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, in August, 1848. From that time until 1853 he worked at his trade in Roanoke. That year he began merchandising in Trenton, Missouri, and continued in business there with excellent success until the outbreak of the war. The same spirit that animated his father in 1812, and himself in 1846, prompted him again to become a soldier of the line. He enlisted in the Confederate service, among the first that answered the bugle-call, and was of the last that left the tented field. He began as a private, and for meritorious conduct became a captain. Higher commissions were offered him, but he declined them. On two different occasions his body received the bullets that were kindly sent to restore a union of hearts as well as of sisterly, affectionate states. With the return of peace, having been broken up by the war, he returned to his trade in Roanoke. He continued to work at this until 1875, when, his health failing him, he began the practice of law, giving his attention also to conveyancing as a notary public, and to the insurance business. As a man of superior intelligence, and of an aspiring mind, he had been giving his attention to the law some years before he began to practice, and was not without substantial qualifications when he entered the profession. Captain BAGBY also conducts an undertaking business in Roanoke, in which he has been interested for some years. July 11, 1849, he was married to Miss Elizabeth TERRELL, formerly of Kentucky. They have five children: Lewis, James H., David, Robert and Bettie. The captain is a member of the Christian church, and is a Royal Arch Mason. Pg 569 R. J. BAGBY, M. D., physician and druggist. Doctor BAGBY, brother to Captain BAGBY, whose sketch precedes this, was born after his parents came to this county, September 11, 1832. His father was a substantial and highly respected farmer, and the early youth of the doctor was spent on the farm in the usual farm duties, a part of each year, however, being occupied with attending the neighborhood schools. When eighteen years of age, being then prepared to enter upon a higher course of studies, he became a student in the Fayette high school, where he continued until 1852. He then taught school one year, and immediately thereafter commenced the study of medicine under Dr. P. B. CHIDES, remaining with him one year. The following year he studied under Doctor Thomas J. BLAKE, and in 1854- 55 attended the St. Louis Medical college. After the conclusion of the college term of '55, he returned to Roanoke and engaged in the practice of his profession, since which he has followed it with only two interruptions, one of a year, during which he practised in Chariton county, and the other in the winter of 1862-63, when he attended the St. Louis Medical college, graduating in March of the succeeding spring. As a physician the doctor enjoys an excellent reputation as a skilful and successful practitioner. That his professional career has been successful in a substantial way as well as in reputation, is evidenced by his present comfortable situation in life. His drug store is a good one and commands a wide and lucrative trade. May 12, 1856, he was married to Miss Permelia TWYMAN, formerly of Virginia, but she died January 2, 1872, leaving three children: Hugh B., Walter and William H. His second wife was also a Miss TWYMAN,--Alice H. They have three children: Noble C., John W, and Robert J. W. Pg 570 R. P. BRIGGS one of the leading and most influential citizens of this township, was born in Pike county, Missouri, February 25, 1827. In 1841, he took up his permanent location in Howard county, where he has since been recognized as a representative man of the community in which he lives. He now resides on section 25, where he owns a farm of 250 acres of well improved land. Upon this is a substantial barn, house and other buildings. Mr. BRIGGS married Miss Mary A. THORP, of this county, September 15, 1853. They have nine children; David J., Fanny B., Lulu E., Hattie B., Thomas H., William J., Robert P., Katie M. and Wade H. They are members of the Baptist church. Mr. BRIGGS belongs to the Masonic order. CAPTAIN ALEXANDER DENNY, farmer and stock raiser and dealer. Captain DENNY's life has been more than an ordinarily active one, as well as more than ordinarily successful. Soldiering, school teaching, mining, teaming, merchandising, farming and the stock business are the occupations that have successfully employed his time from early manhood to the middle of the afternoon of life, and in all of them he has shown that he possesses the qualities that win success in whatever situation one may be placed. Some will fail anywhere, others nowhere, and Captain DENNY is one of the latter class. He was born in this county, June 17th, 1826, and was a son of James DENNY and wife, formerly Miss Elizabeth BEST, both natives of Kentucky. They were married here, however, in 1818, the same year that his father cast his fortunes with the "Boone's Lick country." Alexander grew up on his father's farm in this county, and in youth secured a good ordinary English education in the common schools and by diligent study at home. When twenty years of age, being naturally of a spirited and enterprising disposition, he became a soldier in the Mexican war, enlisting under the old Missouri hero, General DONIPHAN, in 1846, and serving until the general discharge at New Orleans, in 1847. He then came home and engaged in school teaching, which he followed until 1849. That year the California gold excitement broke out , and young DENNY was one of the first to brave the hardships and dangers of a trip across the plains and over the cloud-capped heights of the Cordilleras, to the Hesperian gardens of the Pacific coast. Nor was he one of the faint-hearted many that lost their courage amid the trials of pioneer experience and returned to the feather-bed ease of home life. He remained until 1856, digging deep into the bowels of the earth for gold, and teaming through the Indian hemmed mountain canons. His California life was not without substantial results. Returning home in 1856, he engaged in merchandising and farming. In 1871 he conducted a successful store in Roanoke, but that year sold out and turned his whole attention to farming and the stock business. He has a magnificent farm of a thousand acres finely improved, on which he grows grain and other products and raises stock on an extensive sacle. He is also one of the leading stock dealers in the county. During the late war, Captain DENNY commanded a company of enrolled militia, and acquitted himself of the service with marked honor. January 22d, 1856, he was married to Miss Mary A. SNODDY, and eight children bless their conjugal life: Lizzie B., Joe S., Fossie, Kate M., Zannie M., Ula B., James M. and David B. The "black camel, Death," as Abd-el-Kadir has appropriately named it, has knelt at their door, and a loved one, a son, George C., has been borne away. Pg 571 J. R. DENNEY In the year 1826, there was born in Howard county, Missouri, to Charles and Jennie DENNEY, a son whom they called J. R. DENNEY, and whose name heads this sketch. He has ever made this county his home, and has given his attention to farming and the raising of stock, in which occupation he has become very successful. He at present resides on section 32, where he owns a fine farm of 205 acres, with the necessary buildings upon it. He is unmarried. W. E. DENTITH, senior editor of the Autograph, at Armstrong. Mr. DENTITH is a native of England, and was born in Manchester, August 22d, 1858. His father was a surgeon-major in the English army. When a lad ten years of age, young DENTITH came to America, landing at Galveston, Texas, where he grew to manhood and lived until coming to Missouri, in 1882. He received a good practical education in the schools of Galveston, and after growing up entered the office of the Galveston News to learn the newspaper business. He continued in that office and the offices of other papers for seven years, thus acquiring a thorough practical knowledge of the business. Coming to this state in 1882, in January of the following year he established the Autograph at Armstrong. The ability and energy with which this paper has been conducted speaks in the highest terms of the qualifications of Mr. DENTITH, both as an editor and business man. On the 23d of November, 1880, he was married at Galveston, Texas, by Rev. Dr. BIRD, of Trinity church, to Miss Lucy L. MCKOWN, daughter of Judge MCKOWN, of that city. They have one child, a son. J. F. EVANS a member of the firm of SULLIVAN & EVANS, dealers in general merchandise at Atmstrong, is a native of this (Howard) county, and was born October 11, 1844. His parents, Thomas and Mary EVANS, originally from Madison county, Kentucky, came to Howard county, Missouri, in 1818. J. F. Evans married Miss Katie M. SNAVELY, of this county. They have had four children, three of whom are living: Leonard L., Elmer E., and an infant. They are members of the M. E. church, and Mr. EVANS belongs to lodge No. 270, A. O. U. W., of Armstrong. This firm are receiving a large share of patronage in their line of business, and are recognized as substantial business men. Pg 572 C. R. EVANS general merchant. Just as Mr. Evans reached the age that young men usually start out in life on their own responsibility, the war broke out, and for four or five years all sorts of business were so unsettled in this section of the state that no one could think of engaging in any line of industry, with any reasonable degree of safety. As the war progressed, practically every one qualified for military service became identified with one side or the other, and he with the rest. In 1864 he enlisted in company C, ELLIOTT's regiment, SHELBY's division, and served until the close of the struggle. He was twenty- three years old when peace was declared, having been born in this county January 27, 1842. Reared on his father's farm and educated in the common schools, he was qualified to teach school, and , as no other equally advantageous employment was open to him, he followed that calling for one year, after which he secured a position as clerk in a general store in Roanoke. In this he continued about six years, during which he not only thoroughly mastered the practical details and the general system of merchandising, but by economy and upright, gentlemanly conduct so fortified himself in the confidence and esteem of the public that he was not wanting for means and ample credit when, in 1876, he determined to begin business on his own account. The same qualities that made him a successful and popular clerk have made him a successful and popular merchant, and he now commands a lucrative and rapidly increasing trade throughout the surrounding country. May 18, 1881, he was married to Miss Mattie PREWITT, and one child, Fannie M., was born to them, but "'Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade Death came with friendly care; The opening bud to Heaven conveyed And bade it blossom there." In 1876 Mr. EVANS was appointed postmaster of Roanoke, since which he has continued to hold that office. His father, Thomas EVANS, was a native of Kentucky, but came to this county in 1816, where he afterwards married Miss Mary A. DENNY, and made his permanent home here. C. R. was one of the family of children resulting from this union. Pg 573 JOHN A. FERGUSON farmer and stock raiser. John A., a son of Isham and Julia (KINNEY) FERGUSON, was born in this county July 10, 1830. His father was a native of Virginia, but when a young man he removed to Kentucky, where he was married, and afterwards, in 1825, came to this county with his family and settled in Prairie township. He was a farmer by occupation, to which calling John A. was brought up, and this the son has since continued to follow. In youth John A. FERGUSON had the advantages afforded by the schools of Roanoke, and succeeded in acquiring a good practical education. He was married July 17, 1853, to Miss Emeline MOORE, of Scott county, Kentucky. Their only child, James, was taken from them by death. Mr. FERGUSON has a good farm of 600 acres of fine land, and, besides the ordinary farm interests, makes a specialty of short-horn thoroughbred cattle, of which he has a herd of eighty head. He is a thorough- going, enterprising farmer and stock raiser, and is well respected as a citizen and a neighbor. Pgs 573 & 574 MAJOR JOSEPH H. FINKS. Prominent among the citizens of Howard county who give character to the community in which they live, and are a credit and an honor to the county, is Major Joseph H. FINKS, of Prairie township. Descended from an ancestry of soldiers and excellent citizens of the Old Dominion, where he himself was born and partly raised, he inherited undiminished the sterling qualities o fhis family, which have given him a standing in his adopted state not unworthy of his name nor of the old commonwealth that gave him birth. The founder of the family in this country came originally from Switzerland, that cradle of the republican institutions of modern times. Mark FINKS, the major's ancestor of the third generation, was a captain in the revolutionary army and served under General LAFAYETTE. He died in Virginia at the advanced age of eighty. His wife was previously a Miss FISHER, whose family subsequently became prominent in Kentucky. He was a man of great personal worth, and of a more than ordinarily generous, kindly disposition, and quitted a long and useful life without a known enemy. This quality--kindness, generous, courteious bearing to all--is a marked characteristic of the family. Major FINKS' grandfather, James FINKS, was a soldier in the war of 1812 and served his country faithfully until the close of the struggle. He distinguished himself in several important engagements by his resolute, unfaltering courage in the most trying circumstances. He was born in Madison county, Virginia, in 1776, and and died in that state in 1846. He was married in his native county to Miss Mary ALLEN, and subsequently removed to Orange county of the same state. Captain James FINKS, the major's father, was born a short time before his parents left Madison county, September 1, 1808, but was reared in Orange county. He married his first wife in the last named county, Miss Mary E. DULANY, but she survived her marriage only a short time, dying in 1835. The following year Captain FINKS made a trip to Howard county, this state, where he met and married Miss Caroline, daughter of Joseph S. and Cassandra HUGHES, old settlers of the county, but originally of Kentucky. He then returned to Virginia with his wife, where he lived about fourteen years, but in 1851 came back to this county with his family and made it his permanent home. For many years he has been one of the most highly respected and substantial citizens of the county. Joseph H. FINKS was born in Greene county, Virginia, August 7, 1838. He was, therefore, thirteen years of age when his parents settled in this county. Before he left Virginia he had attended the neighborhood schools a number of sessions, and had made a substantial start in the acquirement of an education. In this county he also had the advantages afforded by the ordinary local schools, and in 1857 was well qualified to enter college. He then returned to his native state and became a matriculate in Randolph-Macon college, where he studied diligently for two years, thus acquiring an excellent education. Reared on a farm, he early acquired a taste for the independent, honorable life of a farmer, which decided him to devote himself mainly to agricultural pursuits. Accordingly, after his college course he located on a farm in this county, and went to work with a resolution and energy, united with a degree of intelligent management, that could have but one result--complete success--which he was not long in achieving. He has long been regarded as one of the best farmers of the county. However, coming of an ancestry he did, and in every sense a worthy son of the Old Dominion and of his adopted state, it was but natural to expect that when the bugle-call of the south was sounded in 1861 he would be among the first to rally to her defence. He enlisted under Governor JACKSON's first call for troops, and was at once elected first lieutenant of his company. Shortly afterwards he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel by the governor, and assigned to a position on the staff of General John B. CLARK, Sr. In this service he continued until the expiration of his term, when, in 1862, he entered the regular Confederate army and followed the meteor-like flag of the south through three long years of privation and danger, and until, like the cross, defeat was made more glorious than victory. After his entrance into the Confederate service he was commissioned major by President Davis, and successively occupied positions on the staffs of Generals FROST, John B. CLARK, Sr., and PARSONS. He was member of General PARSONS' staff at the time of the surrender. In 1870 he was elected circuit clerk for Howard county, and such was his efficiency and popularity in office that he was re-elected in 1874, thus holding that position eight years. Following this, in 1878, he was elected to the legislature from this county, and in that body took high rank as an able and conscientious legislator. December 17, 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie, daughter of William J. HARVEY, of Chariton county. As a citizen and neighbor, and in every relation of life, Major FINKS is without reproach. Pg 575 REV. DAVID FISHER, Deceased. Rev. David FISHER and Jacob FISHER, of Fayette, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, had the same paternal ancestor of the third generation,--David FISHER, of Augusta county, Virginia, their grandfather, an old Continental soldier. Jacob FISHER, the father of Rev. David, and uncle of Jacob FISHER, of Fayette, was born and reared in Augusta county. He married Miss Mary PAINTER, of Rockingham county, of the same state, and of this union David, the subject of this sketch, was born. Towards the latter part of his life, Jacob, the father of our subject, with his wife and younger children removed to Highland county, Ohio, where both parents lived until their death. There he became a wealthy farmer and was a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church. David FISHER was born in Augusta county, Virginia, March 1, 1805, and was reared in that county. He joined the Methodist Episcopal church south, when in his nineteenth year and entered the ministry of that church in his twenty-second year. He travelled in the Virginia conference about six years, and was then transferred to the Missouri conference, arriving at the field of his labor in Boone county in 1838. Ten years afterwards he came to this county, and since that date up to his death, December 1, 1877, served his church either as itinerant or local preacher with but little intermission. However, he did not rely upon his ministerial work for means of support for himself and family. Having large farming interests, including three excellent farms, he was in a position to devote himself to his great life-work, which he did, "without money and without price" He was married July 8, 1834, to Miss Eliza A., daughter of Daniel BROWN, of Essex county, Virginia. She, together with six children, survives her husband: Charles B., Susan M., wife of Richard BLAKEY, of Roanoke; and Misses Sallie C., Laura O., and Lou P., and James O., the fifth child. Mary E., the eldest, is now deceased. She was the wife of George W. WALKER. JAMES O. FISHER, farmer. Mr. FISHER, the fifth of a family of seven, the children of Rev. David FISHER, deceased, whose sketch precedes this, was born in this county October 25, 1849. Reared on his father's homestead, after attending the neighborhood schools in early youth he entered Central college in Fayette, where he continued as a student until he had acquired a good practical education. At the age of twenty, in 1869, he went to Texas, but remained there only a short time, returning then to his native county. Here he followed farming until 1872, when he went back to Texas and engaged in the stock business, and for five years gave that interest his undivided attention. But in 1877 he was called home by business affairs, and in a short time settled on his present farm consisting of several hundred acres of fine land, well improved, where he has since lived. October 3, 1877, he was married to Miss Kate, daughter of Rice PATTERSON, an old citizen of this section of the state. Pg 576 STEPHEN T. GARNER, section 20, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of this vicinity, and one of the oldest settlers of Howard county, owes his nativity to Clark county, Kentucky, where he was born August 30, 1815. In November, 1817, he was brought by his parents to this county, and has since continued to make his home within its boundaries. His present fine farm, embracing 320 acres, is well improved and under cultivation. March 20, 1829, Miss Nancy SNODDERLY, of Howard county, Missouri, became his wife. She was the daughter of Joseph W. SNODDERLY. They are members of the M. E. church south. Mr. G. has held the position of justice of the peace for many years. He is well known in this community, and numbers his friends by the score. F. H. GREENE, farmer. Mercantile clerking in this county and mining in California occupied about twenty years of Mr. GREENE'S life after he started out on his own responsibility in early manhood. Since then he has been engaged in farming, and has long been marked as one of the substantial, well-respected farmers of the county. He was born in Howard county, Missouri, July 15, 1823, and was a son of Wesley S. and Elizabeth (HAWLEY) GREENE, both natives of Kentucky. His father removed from Madison county, that state, in 1819, and settled first at Old Franklin, but two years later pushed on out to Prairie township, where he made his permanent home and reared his family. After F. H. grew up he engaged in clerking, and continued in that occupation at Fayette, Glasgow and Prairieville successively until 1850, when, the gold excitement of California having broken out the year previous, he was attracted to the Pacific coast, as thousands of others were, by the hope of accumulating from the mines of that region a handsome fortune in a comparatively short time. He remained in California thirteen years, but in 1863 returned to his old home in Howard county and engaged in farming. He has a good farm of 200 acres, improved, and gives considerable attention to stock raising. February 17, 1869, he was married to Miss Martha KENDRICK. They have two children--Leo and Lillian. JAMES E. HARVEY, farmer. James E. HARVEY, born in this county April 25, 1819, was the eldest of a family of thirteen children born to John and Elizabeth (WALKUP) HARVEY, both natives of Madison county, Kentucky. They came to Howard county in 1817 and settled in what is now known as Prairie township. John HARVEY was a farmer by occupation, and also followed merchandising, and James E., as he grew up, became familiar with the requirements and practical duties of both of these lines of industry. To the former, however, he has given his whole attention, except while he was merchandising in Glasgow two years, between 1864 and 1867, and clerking five years in his father's store in Fayette, from 1837 to 1842, inclusive. He now has several hundred acres of land in this and Chariton counties, and is a successful, enterprising farmer. Mr. H. has been twice married. His first wife, previously Miss Frances TOLSON, to whom he was married in 1843, died in August, 1847, leaving one child, John B., still living. March 28, 1848, he was married to Miss Sallie A. HERN, formerly of Madison county, Kentucky. Of this union there are seven children living-- William O., James E., Jr., Anna E., Alexander C., Susie A., Henry C. and Sallie B. Mr. H. is a member of the Christian church, of the I. O. O. F., and has been justice of the peace. His father was a soldier in the Black Hawk war. Pg 577 W. C. HARVEY, M. D., physician and merchant. Dr. HARVEY, a native of this county, and a thoroughly educated physician, has been practising his profession in Roanoke for nearly thirty-five years, and has long enjoyed a reputation, both as a physician and a citizen, second to that of no one in the contiguous sections of Howard and Randolph counties. He was born August 8, 1825, and was educated in the common schools of his neighborhood. When quite a young man he taught school two years, and then, in 1846 began the study of medicine. He studied under Dr. L. C. THOMAS two years and attended the Transylvania Medical college of Lexington, Kentucky, during the terms of 1846-47 and 1847-48, graduating at the close of the last named term with marked honor. After his graduation he returned to Missouri, and for a short time practised his profession in Linn county, but in the winter of 1849-49 located in Roanoke, where from that time to this he has continued the practice. September 16, 1852, he was married to Miss Leah A. BLAKEY. They have two children living--Gussie S. and Zallie A. The doctor's father, John HARVEY, was a native of Virgina, but was reared in Kentucky, where he married Miss Elizabeth WALKUP. In 1817 he came to this county with his family and settled in what is now Prairie township, where the doctor was born and reared. In 1880 Dr. HARVEY established a dry goods and grocery store in Roanoke, which commands an excellent trade. G. G. HARVEY, section 33, a leading agriculturist and raiser of stock of this vicinity, was also born in Howard county, Missouri, November 18, 1834, within one mile of where he now lives. His father, William Harvey, a native of Madison county, Kentucky, came to this county in 1818. G. G. HARVEY was united in marriage December 27, 1865, to Miss Narcissa SNODDY, of Howard county. They have six children--Georgie, Thomas J., Annie, Narcissa, William W. and Eva. Mrs. H. is a member of the M. E. church south. Mr. HARVEY is the possessor of 350 acres of land, under good cultivation, and improved with a substantial dwelling and fine orchard. Pg 578 J. Y. HUME, M. D., physician and surgeon, and of FUGATE & HUME, druggists, at Armstrong. Dr. HUME is a son of Reuben Y., and grandson of Joel HUME, both of whom came to this county in 1844; the former, then a youth, coming out with his father's family, who emigrated from Madison county, Kentucky, that year. [A sketch of the HUME family is given elsewhere in this volume.] Reuben Y. was married, after he grew up to manhood, in this county, to Miss Frances PAYTON, mention of whose family is made in the notice of Joel HUME's life. Of this union J. Y., now Dr. HUME, was born November 13, 1851. He was educated at Central college, in Fayette, and in 1874 began the study of medicine under Dr. F. M. SCROGGIN, of this county. He prosecuted his studies with diligence for two years under that excellent physician, and then entered the St. Louis Medical college, from which he was graduated with honor in March, 1879. Locating at Armstrong, he is rapidly establishing a wide reputation as a skilful and successful physician. He has also for some time past been a member of the drug firm of FUGATE & HUME. This firm has a lucrative and increasing trade throughout the surrounding county. November 13, 1879, the doctor was married to Miss Fannie P., daughter of Dr. J. A. WALKER. They have one child, an infant. Dr. HUME is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the A. O. U. W. RICHARD W. LEE is a son of Richard and Nancy LEE, natives of Madison county, Kentucky, and was born November 11, 1834, within one-half a mile of where he now resides. He has ever made agricultural pursuits and the raising of stock his occupation during life, and is now the possessor of 361 acres of farming land, on section 21, under good improvement. Mr. LEE is a brother of Judge LEE, well known in this community. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. fraternity of Roanoke. JACOB MORTENSON, a prominent dealer in hardware and lumber at Armstrong, was born in Denmark in July, 1857. Emigrating to the United States, he settled in Howard county, Missouri, in 1873, subsequently locating in Armstrong. Here he is enjoying a good trade, and having a complete stock in his line, receives a liberal patronage. September 26, 1882, Mr. MORTENSON was married to Miss Ella QUINN, of this county. They are members of the Christian church, and Mr. M. belongs to lodge No. 270, A. O. U. W., of Armstrong. JAMES H. PATTERSON, farmer. Mr. PATTERSON is of Irish descent. Littlebury PATTERSON, his ancestor of the fourth generation, lived and died in Virginia, where he reared a family of eight children. Thomas PATTERSON, a son of Littlebury, and grandfather of James H., settled in Madison county, Kentucky, in about 1800, and there married Mary, a daughter of William HARVEY, who afterwards became an early settler of Prairie township, this county. In 1817 Thomas PATTERSON removed to this county with his family, where he lived until his death. He reared a large family of children, and of these, Rice, the father of James H., was born before the parents left Kentucky, February 25, 1811, in Madison county. He was married in this county in the spring of 1838 to Miss Cordelia G., daughter of David MARTIN, an early settler of the county. He died here June 15, 1877, his wife following him to the grave January 5, 1881. He was a man of great industry, enterprise, and of a high order of intelligence. Beginning life for himself without anything, he became one of the foremost men of the county in wealth and character. Esteemed by all who knew him as an upright, progressive citizen and a good neighbor, he died possessed of a large estate consisting of over 1,300 acres of fine land, and large personal property interests besides. Flat- boating, teaming across the plains, clerking, merchandising, farming, and the stock business, mark his successive steps from youth and penury to honored old age and wealth. For over twenty years he and his wife were exemplary members of the Baptist church. James H. PATTERSON was born in this county August 4, 1850, and was the fifth of a family of seven children. He was educated in the common schools, and in William Jewell college, of Liberty, Missouri. He began the activities of life at his majority by engaging in merchandising in Roanoke. He followed this until 1881, when he turned his whole attention to farming. In the meantime, in 1879, he had commenced farming, and since then he has continued in that occupation with excellent success. He has a good farm, substantially and comfortably improved. March 19, 1874, he was married to Miss Bettie EDDINS, of this county. They have two children, James C. and Nadine G. Mr. P. is a member of the Baptist church. Pg 579 JAMES R. PHELPS. William P. PHELPS, the father of James R., though a native of Madison county, Kentucky, having been born there in 1823, was reared in Chariton county, this state, where he was brought by his parents when only a year old. After growing up he was married to Miss Elizabeth FINNELL, of this section of the state, and of the family of children born of this union, eight are now living: Mary E., James R., John L., Lillie D., Genero F., Kate, Robert and Stonewall. James R. was born October 12, 1849, and in 1850 the family moved to Roanoke, where he was reared and has since continued to live. January 8, 1876, the father died, leaving an estate consisting of an excellent farm and a considerable amount of personal property. William P. PHELPS was an industrious, intelligent farmer, and an upright, good citizen, and was highly respected by all who knew him. "Men drop so fast 'ere life's mid-stage we tread, Few know so many friends alive as dead." In the very meridian of life, when his need to loved ones was the greatest, he fell a victim to the insatiate archer, Death. Yet his life was such that "The less of this cold world, the more of heaven--The briefer life, the earlier immortality." James R. is interested in the management of his father's farm, which is being successfully worked and to the best advantage for the estate. Besides this he in engaged in clerking in Roanoke, which he has followed for some years, and is an efficient, popular salesman and clerk. Pg 580 JAMES RICHARDSON, tobacco dealer, farmer and fine stock raiser. Mr. RICHARDSON, formerly a leading citizen of Madison county, Kentucky, of which he was a representative in the legistlature of that state, came to Howard county in 1859, but owing to the unsettled condition of affairs just preceding the outbreak of the war, did not enter largely into farming and general business until after the close of that struggle. In 1865, he purchased a large farm of 600 acres just across the line in Randolph county, which he greatly improved, and it is now one of the finest landed estates throughout the surrounding country. Coming from a pure stock country--the blue grass regions of Kentucky--he brought his tastes for blooded, high grade stock with him, and at once went to work to make his farm equal to the fine stock farms of his native county. The result is he has one of the finest herds of shorthorn cattle in north Missouri--a herd that has taken more premiums in the last three years than any other in that section of the state. He also conducts an important tobacco business at Roanoke, in this county. He was born in Madison county, Kentucky, December 13, 1820. His father, Thomas RICHARDSON, was a native of Virginia, but was reared in Kentucky. His mother was formerly Miss Mary HARRIS, born and reared in Kentucky. James RICHARDSON lived in his native county--where, June 20, 1840, he was married to Miss Sallie SIMPSON, of Clark county, that state,--until he was thirty-nine years of age, then, in 1859, coming to Howard county with his family. They have three children, Sallie J., wife of George H. WILCOXSON; Mary E., wife of G. C. BROWN, and Rosanna B., wife of Chas. R. BROWN. WILLIAM A. SHIFLETT, section 21, came originally from Rockingham county, Virginia, where he was born September 27, 1837. On the 26th of September, 1855, he removed to Howard county, Missouri, and in March, 1870, located upon the farm which he now occupies. This embraces 226 acres. February 14, 1856, occurred the marriage of Mr. Shiflett to Miss Margaret POWELL, of Greene county, Virginia. They have had a family of eleven children, of whom ten are living; Henry C., Laurie L., Dora B., Peter, Millie, Mollie, George W., Julia, King R. and Fannie. An important feature of Mr. SHIFLETT's farm is his excellent young orchard. Pg 581 BENJAMIN F. SNYDER, farmer and stock raiser. Like so many of the substantial and better class of farmers of Howard county, Mr. SNYDER comes of an old and well respected Virginia family. He was born in Madison county, Virginia, November 14th, 1819, and came to this county with his father's family when he was fourteen years of age. His father, James SNYDER, and his mother, formerly Miss Sarah A. HYLOR, were both natives of the Old Dominion, and his father was a gallant soldier in the war of 1812. They settled in this county in 1833, where the father followed coopering, to which occupation the son was brought up, following it until the death of his father in 1851. He then engaged in farming, also carrying on a cooper shop, and in these occupations he has since continued. He now owns a handsome farm of nearly 300 acres, and has it well improved. In connection with his other farming interests he raises some good stock, of which he has an excellent quality. March 4th, 1863, he was married to Miss Mary F. WALFORD. They have one child, Mariam F. Mrs. S. is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Masonic order. R. M. SNODDY, the son of J. W. SNODDY, originally of Madison county, Kentucky, was born in Howard county, Missouri, January 31, 1831, and has made this his home since that time, with the exception of seven years which he passed in Grundy county, Missouri. He is now quite an extensive farmer and stock raiser, and is the owner of a landed estate of 343 acres. Mr. SNODDY was married April 30th, 1860, to Miss Clemency WODDS of this county. They have four children living: William W., John F., Robert L. and Minnie M. Mrs. S. is a member of the Presbyterian church, and he is a Mason. JAMES L. SPERRY, farmer, section 21, owes his nativity to Lawrence county, Kentucky, where he was born August 1, 1804. In 1839 he came to Missouri, but did not settle in Howard county until the fall of 1856. Here he now owns a farm of 148 acres, all under cultivation. March 11th, 1823, Mr. SPERRY was married to Miss Parlina CANTERBERY, of Lawrence county, Kentucky. She died January 28, 1880. To them had been born nine children, five of whom are living: Eveline M., William H., Benj. F., Martha and John W. Mr. SPERRY is a member of the M. E. church south. Pgs 581 & 582 SAMUEL STEINMETZ, farmer and breeder of short horn cattle and other blooded stock. Among the prominent citizens of Howard county of German birth who have reflected credit upon themselves, their fatherland and their adopted country, in Samuel STEINMETZ, of Prairie township. He was born in Gros-yen-Engles Kries Fritzler Kur Hessen, Germany, October 10th, 1809. His father, Warnerd STEINMETZ, was a farmer. His mother's maiden name was Louisa SEEBRE. In early youth he received a limited education in his native town, and then served three years as an apprentice to the boot and shoe making business. After working as a journeyman at his trade about two years he came to America, experiencing great hardships on the voyage by reason of the water and provisions becoming exhausted. Finally he landed at Baltimore in 1834, with but twenty-five francs, a less sum than five dollars. Failing to get employment there, having refused to accept work offered him, which would have resulted in the discharge of a fellow-mechanic, he went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he worked about a year, and from thence to Pittsburg and Allegheny City, thence to Wheeling, West Virginia, and to Maysville, Kentucky, thence to Versailles, Kentucky, and to Lexington in the same state; from Lexington he went to Louisville. At these places he met with varied experiences, obtaining work in most of them, however, for a short time. Arrived at Louisville, he secured employment and began a system of rigid economy, with the view of becoming enabled to commence business for himself. He soon accumulated a small capital and went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he engaged in business. In a short time he also carried on business in Jackson and New Orleans, and several other leading points in the south. In a few years he sold out his business, and had $7,000 in cash as the result of his enterprise. He then determined to make a visit to his native country, but by the Brandon bank of Vicksburg failing at that time, in which his money was deposited, he lost all but about $1,000. He then came west, and finally located in Glasgow, this state, where he commenced his career in this county, just five years after landing at Baltimore. Here he opened a shop and shortly engaged in the boot and shoe mercantile line, and by his promptness and honorable dealings he very soon established a character that secured him all the credit and assistance he desired in business, and a wide trade--a character which for truth, honesty and uprightness for over forty years has been without spot or tarnish. In 1861 he sold out his boot and shoe business, and in 1863 engaged in the grocery business with J. W. MEZRICK as his partner, and having more means than he desired to use in this branch, he also engaged in speculations in nails, whiskey, etc., from which he realized very large profits. He also run a large and popular hotel in Glasgow. In 1866 he purchased a saw mill and farm from A. W. Roper, just across the river from Glasgow, the farm containing 733 acres of as fine land as there is on the Missouri river. This was greatly improved, and in a few years was sold in lots to suit purchasers, at a very large profit. In 1868 he purchased the Hazel Ridge farm belonging to the estate of Wm. M. MORRISON, deceased, near Glasgow, containing 330 acres, for many years regarded as one of the most beautiful farms in the state. He has greatly improved it, and is making it a model stock farm in every particular. Here he lives, and follows stock raising on a large scale. He has some of the finest cattle, sheep, hogs and other live stock in Missouri. He has fifty head of short horn cattle of imported breeds, a large flock of Cotswold sheep, and hogs of various high grades. This farm is immediately on the Chicago and Alton railroad, and Mr. STEINMETZ has established a station called STEINMETZ, which promises to become an important and prosperous place. In 1849 he made a trip to California, which, however, resulted in a loss to him of over $1,000. December 3d, 1840, he was married to Miss Lucetta V., daughter of Lewis COLEMAN, late of Chariton county, a lady of great personal worth. Her father was a soldier under WELLINGTON, and participated in the famous battle of Waterloo. Mr. STEINMETZ has nine children. His two eldest sons fill honored graves, having fallen in the defence of Glasgow, October 15th, 1864; the eldest, Captain Samuel, fell while gallantly commanding his company within the entrenchments; his brother, Aaron, was mortally wounded while obeying the former's orders and died two days afterwards. The two eldest daughters are married--the first, Amelia, to John TILLMAN, and the second, Mary, to Wm. A. MEYER, both prominent merchants of Glasgow. The other children are Edward, George, John, Don, Palmer, William and Maine. Pg 583 HENRY C. THORP, farmer and stock raiser, section 25, was born in Howard county, Missouri, upon the farm he now occupies, October 5, 1847, his parents being Jackson ahd Harriet THORP, Kentuckians by birth. Henry C. THORP was married October 16, 1856, to Miss Belle BRUMMEL, of Chariton county, Missouri, and to them have been born three children--Anna M., Beulah B., and an infant, unnamed. Mr. THORP's farm of 215 acres is an excellently improved one, and upon it is a substantial house and a barn far above the average of those in this township. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, as is also his wife. A. C. TOLSON, originally from Madison county, Kentucky, was born on October 16, 1821. In the fall of 1823, he accompanied his parents to Callaway county, Missouri, and in 1825, he came to Howard county, moving upon his present farm in section 20, in 1858. This contains over 248 acres of fine land that will average with any in the county. Mr. TOLSON is a farmer of advanced views, and takes great interest in promoting the interests of this county and township. September 20, 1855, he was married to Permelia E. GIBBS, of Howard county, Missouri, and a daughter of Stephen and Martha GIBBS. They have had four children, three of whom are living--Stephen B., George L. and James C. They are members of the Christian church. Pg 584 J. K. TWYMAN, section 29, a son of F. K. B. TWYMAN, is a native of Howard county, Missouri, and was born August 14, 1855. He has since made this his home, following farming as his occupation. His present landed estate embraces 127 acres, upon which is a fine dwelling and a good young orchard. He devotes some attention to the raising of stock. Mr. TWYMAN was married on December 13, 1878, to Miss Fanny B. BRIGGS, of this county. Their family consists of two children--Mary and Ruby B. T. W. VILEY, stock dealer and farmer. The importance of Mr. VILEY's transactions in the stock dealing business, and the extent of his farming interests, give him a conspicuous position among the leading citizens of Howard county in these lines. He buys and ships large quanities of stock for the principal markets of the West, and his landed estate numbers a thousand acres of the best quality of farming land. He was born in Randolph county, Missouri, March 5, 1836, and was reared in that county, which continued to be his place of residence until 1882, when he settled in this county. His father, John VILEY, and his mother, whose name before she married was Susan B. ELLEY, were both natives of Kentucky, whence they came and settled in Randolph county in this state. The father was a farmer by occupation, and to this calling T. W. VILEY was brought up. After attaining manhood he was married September 18, 1861, to Miss Lizzie P. STOCK, formerly of Kentucky, but she died May 18, 1864, leaving one child--Lizzie B. October 1, 1865, he was married a second time, Mrs. Lou O., relict of T. W. BOONE, then becoming his wife. She was born in Monroe county, Missouri, April 23, 1839. J. J. WALKUP, section 29, was born in Howard county, Missouri, on the 28th of October, 1834. His parents were James and Arreta WALKUP, originally from Garrett county, Kentucky, who came to this county in 1830. In 1862, the subject of this sketch removed to Davis county, Iowa, but in the spring of 1876 he returned to Missouri, locating on his present farm of 800 acres. Upon this place is a good house and barn, besides an orchard of excellent fruit. Mr. WALKUP married Miss Isabel HARDY, of Davis county, Iowa, September 7, 1864. They have six children--Cora L., Thomas H., Lela E., Mary E., Katie B. and James E. Mr. WALKUP is a member of the A. O. U. W. fraternity, and with his wife belongs to the M. E. church south. J. H. WAYLAND, farmer, and lately a manufacturer and merchant. Henry WAYLAND and Arana MALONE were both born and reared in Virginia, and there married and for some years afterwards lived in Orange county, of that state. Of this union J. H. WAYLAND, the subject of this sketch, was born in Orange county, June 8, 1818. When he was but three years of age his parents removed to this county, and here he was reared, and as he grew up was educated in the common schools. He followed farming until 1847, when he engaged in merchandising in Roanoke, in which he continued about seventeen years. He then traded in live stock until 1867, at which time he gave his attention to milling and and the manufacture of woolen goods a short distance east of Roanoke, conducting also a store at the same time. These lines he pursued with satisfactory success until 1873, when he leased his mill and resumed farming, which he has since followed. He has a good farm of about two hundred acres, and has it substantially and comfortably improved. He was for some years justice of the peace, and is a worthy member of the C. P. church. September 23, 1847, he was married to Miss Martha W. DYSART, of Randolph county. They have eight children--R. C., Euphema A., Mark K., Martha V., J. N., Fannie P., Charles D. and Orpho L. Pg 585 A. S. WOLCOTT, farmer and stock raiser, section 16, is a native of Ontario county, New York, and was born March 22, 1827. On March 24, 1874, he came to this county and has since continued to live here. He now owns a farm of 160 acres, of which sixteen acres are devoted to an orchard. This orchard is one of the finest in the county, and contains about 2,400 trees, 1,000 trees being red winter apples, 300 peaches (representing forty varieties), 200 plum trees, 600 orange quince, besides Siberian crab and pear trees, together with a number of grape vines. Mr. WOLCOTT was united in marriage August 2, 1855, to Miss Sarah P. WALKER, of Ontario county, New York. She died May 9, 1882, leaving three children--Charles S., Eliza L. and George F. Mr. W. is a prominent member of the M. E. church. SIDNEY S. WOODS, farmer and stock raiser, section 17, was born April 29, 1819, in Howard county, Missouri, upon the farm where he now resides. His brother, James WOODS, was born upon the same farm April 3, 1821. Their parents, Patrick and Frances WOODS, originally of Madison county, Kentucky, came to Howard county, Missouri, in 1816, settling the place which these brothers now occupy. With the exception of three years spent in the war, Mr. WOODS has always lived in Howard county. These brothers jointly own a farm of over 517 acres, upon which is a good house, barn and small orchard. SOURCE: History of Howard and Cooper Counties, St. Louis: National Historical Company, 1883, (Prairie township, pp. 568-585.)