Bates County, Missouri - Biographical sketches, 1918 (part 2 of 19)

J. R. Walters made his home with his parents until the outbreak of the Civil War. Inasmuch as it appeared necessary for him to serve on one side of the conflict, he chose to side with the Union and accordingly went to Paoli, Kansas, and enlisted in Company E, Ninth Kansas Cavalry, in the year 1863. This regiment operated along the border and in Arkansas, being on continuous scouting duty and engaging in battle with roving bands of Confederates and the dreaded guerrillas who infested the border states. They had several "mixups" with Ouantrill's gang of freebooters and he was engaged in the battle of Buell Bayou. He received his honorable discharge from the service at DuBall's Bluffs, Arkansas, and made his way homeward by boat to St. Louis, where he and his comrades were paid of¥, discharged, and mustered out of service at Leavenworth. Kansas. He returned directly to Bates county and set about repairing the ravages made during the war, the AValters home having been destroyed and the livestock dispersed during his absence. In 1891, he bought his present home place and is owner of sixty-six acres of well-improved land. Mr. Walters has one of the finest Shorthorn herds in the county and takes considerable pride in his fine livestock.

His marriage with Belle Veda Walker, a native of Illinois, took place in 1874 and they have reared a large family of thirteen children of fourteen born to them. The children are as follow: Plenry C, living on his father's place ; William, Butler, Missouri : Lucy, Mrs. Homer Jenkins, Lone Oak township; Edward, living in Colorado; Mary, wife of Frank Nafus, Lone Oak township; Charles, a farmer in Vernon county, Missouri ; Joseph, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Lizzie, wife of Aleck Cameron, Kansas; Harry, living in Idaho; Nellie, wife of Clifford Nafus, Pleasant Gap township; Jennie, wife of Ward Carpenter, living near Appleton, Missouri ; Annie, resides at home ; and Elijah, at home.

Charles W. and Julia (Anderson) Thompson. Charles W. I'hompson was a native of New York who removed to Calhoun connty, Illinois and there married Julia Anderson, a native of Kentucky. He departed this life in 1853. His widow later married Dr. G. A\ . Christopher. To Charles W. and Julia Thompson were born three children: James, who died in Illinois; Charles, who was drowned in Calhoun county at the age of twenty^- five years; and George W., subject of this review. Elizal^eth, an adopted daughter, makes her home with the subject of this sketch. After the mother's marriage with Dr. Christopher, the family returned to Indiana and resided there for a nundjer of years and then came again to Illinois, where the mother died in 1872. In 1876, Dr. G. \\'. Christopher and his family came to Bates county, and located in Elkhart township on the farm now owned by G. AW Thompson. For some time after coming here. Doctor Christopher practiced his profession while developing his farm. He became widely known as a successful physician. He resided here until his death in 1890. To Dr. and Mrs. Christopher were born two children, Nancy Ann, the oldest, deceased ; and Francis Marion, of Elkhart township.

At the time G. W. Thompson came to Bates county, much of the land was open prairie and the countryside was thinlv settled. Good land could be purchased for as low as six and seven dollars an acre and it was practically necessary for Mr. Thompson to place all the needed improvements on his place. The Thompson farm consists of one hundred forty acres of land with splendid improvements thereon. The farm is noted for its fine livestock. Mr. Thompson is the owner of a very valuable stallion of the American Shire breed which is considered to be one of the finest animals of its kind in the county. He raises Duroc Jersey and Poland China hogs and high-grade Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Thompson keeps a considerable part of his land in pasture and produces much grain and hay. No better nor more productive farm of its size is to be found anywhere in this section of Missouri than the Thompson place.

Mr. Thompson is a Republican in his political affiliations and takes an active part in the affairs of his party, being accounted one of the Republican leaders of the county. He has filled the post of road foreman several times and is a member of the Farmers' Union and of the Methodist Episcopal church.

James F. Gragg, owner of a splendid tract of three hundred twenty acres of highly productive land in Mound township, located four miles south of Adrian, was born July 16, 1850, in Macoupin county, Illinois, on a farm located three miles south of the town of Bunker Hill. He is a son of John and Mary (King) Gragg, the former born in Madison county, Illinois, in 1810, and the latter, born in England and came to this country with her parents when she was nine years of age. John Gragg lived in Illinois and there the wife and mother died in 1872. Mr. Gragg came later to Bates county, Missouri and died here in January, 1893, at the age of eighty-three years, at the home of James F. He was father of twelve children, nine of whom are living: Carrie, widow of Thomas Elliman, Butler, Illinois; George, Nokomis, Illinois; Frank, Lovell, Oklahoma ; Charles, Crescent, Oklahoma ; Ella, wife of Hiram Ellis, Guthrie, Oklahoma; Jane, wife of William DeWitt, Lovell, Oklahoma; Laura, wife of Edward CafTee, of Lovell, Oklahoma; Samuel Taylor, Crescent City, Oklahoma; and James, F., the subject of this review.

The early boyhood days of James F. Gragg were spent in a little log cabin 12 x 14 feet in dimensions, built of logs hewn from forest trees which originally covered his father's farm in Illinois. He grew up in the environment of these primitive surroundings and lived in Illinois until 1883. at which time he went to Clay county, Nebraska. He remained but one year in Nebraska and in the fall of that same vear he came to Bates county, Missouri. For a period of thirteen years, he rented his present place of three hundred twenty acres and then purchased his farm. Upon this large tract, he carries on successful general farming- operations and stock raising and has become one of the most substantial and enterprising farmers of Bates county.

Mr. Gragg was married in 1874 to Melissa Evans, who was also born in Macoupin county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Gragg have had eight children: Charles, deceased; Lawrence Clayton, Rockville, Bates county; Clarence Edward, Kansas City, Missouri; Benjamin, deceased; Archie L., on the home place; Mae, wife of Cleave Chambers, Elkhart township; Bessie, at home ; and Eva B., wife of Carl Laycox, Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Gragg has always ])een a consistent Democrat and is a member of the Central Protective Association and the Farmers' Club which is composed of the progressive farmers of his neighborhood. He and Mrs. Gragg are members of the Baptist church.

John Nickel, one of the few surviving old settlers of West Point township, Union veteran, is a native of Missouri, having been born in Dade county, March 8, 1839. For the past fifty years this aged citizen has resided on his farm in Bates county and has witnessed tremendous and far-reaching changes during that long period. He has reared a family of sons and daughters and has accumulated a sufficiency of this world's goods to give each child a farm and yet leave enough to support 'himself comfortably in his declining years. His career has been an honorable and useful one which is well worth recording in this history of Bates county. Mr. Nickel is a son of Samuel and Helen (Clark) Nickel, both natives of Pennsylvania.

Samuel Nickel was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and migrated to Ohio, where he was united in marriage with Helen Clark and then came further westward to become one of the vanguard of Missouri pioneers who settled in Dade county in 1836. From Dade county he removed to Cedar county, Missouri, in 1849. When the Kansas territory was thrown open to settlement in 1854 he was among the first to locate in Linn county in that year. He was an ardent free state man who was opposed to slavery and took an active part in the border warfare, doing all within his power to make Kansas a free state. Samuel Nickel was a friend of the noted John Brown of Osawatomie and his son. John Nickel, knew Brown well. Samuel Nickel served two years in the Sixth Kansas Cavalry Regiment of the Union army during the Civil War and six of his sons enlisted and served in 1)ehalf of the Union, as follow: William, Benjamin, Jasper, Newton, John, and Robert.

Samuel Nickel had ten sons and a daughter, five of whom are yet living, as follow: John, subject of this review; Newton, a Union veteran, Oklahoma; George, residing in Texas; J. J., living in Denver; Mrs. Emma E. Eagan, residing in San Francisco, California. Samuel Nickel died at the age of seventy-one years and his wife departed this life at the age of fifty-six years.

John Nickel has an enviable and noteworthy war record. He enlisted on August 17, 1861, in Company "D," of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry and served until the close of the conflict. He was honorably discharged from the Union service in December, 1864. Mr. Nickel saw active and continuous service in Missouri, Arkansas, and Indian Territory and Kansas. The principal battles in which his regiment took an active part were: Drywood, September 1, 1861; Sny Hills, 1862; Cowskin Prairie, June, 1862; attack on Clarkson, July 4, 1862; Stan Watea

John Nickel

Mills, July, 1862; Coon Creek, August 24, 1862; Newtonia, September 30, to October 9, 1862; Old Fort Wayne, October 22, 1862; Cane Hill, November 29, 1862; Prairie Grove, December 7, 1862; attack on train, Fort Gibson, May 25, 1863; Honey Spring, July 17, 1863; Prairie De Ann, April 10 and 12, 1864; Poison Spring, April 18, 1864; Ouchita River, April 29, 1864; Roseville, April 3, 1864; Muzzard Prairie, July 27, 1864; Cabin Creek, September 19. 1864. At the battle of Cabin Creek, Oklahoma, he was wounded in the right shoulder and again suffered a wound in the right hand at the battle of Roseville, Arkansas.

After receiving his discharge, Mr. Nickel returned to his home in Linn county, Kansas, and lived there until 1868, when he crossed the line into Missouri and bought a tract of unfenced and unbroken land in West Point township. This tract was crossed by a stream which afforded a plentiful supply of timber growing along its banks. Mr. Nickel cut logs from the timber and erected a rude log cabin which served as his home in Missouri for a number of years. Game was plentiful in those days and the young soldier and his wife had few wants which were not easily supplied although they enjoyed but few luxuries such as the present generation have in their homes. In the course of time Mr. Nickel prospered and built himself a comfortable and imposing farm house. Life was not always easy but he prospered through the lean and good years and eventually became owner of six hundred forty acres of land which he has divided among his children. He deemed it ]:»est to give to each child a tract of land or its equivalent wdiile he was vet living and as each attained his majority he received a fair start in the world.

Mr. Nickel was married on Feljrnary 15, 1865, to Mary L. Francis, who was born in Illinois in 1845 and departed this life in 1895. She was a daughter of Thomas and Hannah Francis, of Illinois, who were pioneer settlers in Bates county, Missouri, coming here from Illinois in 1856. To John and Mary L. Nickel were born the following children: Elmer T., living in California; Hannah T., v.ife of E. J. Francis, residing in Oregon; Anna L.. wife of William Speeks, now deceased; John L., living on the home place, married Miss Ollie Dennv and has three children, Arthur, Floyd, and Paul Denny. Mr. Nickel has fourteen grandchildren in all.

Mr. Nickel has always been allied with the Republican partv and has filled practically all local township offices. He is religiously associated with the Methodist Episcopal church and served as deacon of his church. Mr. Nickel is a meml^ier of the Grand Armv Post at La Cvo-ne,

Kansas. Mr. Nickel loves to talk of the old times and especially grows reminiscent when he speaks of the war times and his strenuous career in the Civil War when his father and six stalwart and patriotic sons went forth to fight in behalf of the Union. He bequeathes a heritage of right living and right doing which wall be an inspiration to the present and succeeding generations. His fifty years of endeavor in Bates county have been blessed with excellent results and he has done as much as' any other pioneer settler in the upbuilding of this county.

Christian Schmidt. - When Christian Schmidt of Mound township came to Bates county thirty-six years ago, he was a poor man with neither money nor friends to assist him in getting a start in this county. By industry, close application to the work at hand, and the exercise of good financial ability he has become one of the substantial farmers of this county and one of the county's most highly respected citizens. Mr. Schmidt was born in Baden, Germany, in 1860. a son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Schmidt, the former of whom never left his native land but died in the place of his birth in 1871. Mrs. Schmidt came to America, in 1880, with her two daughters, Catherine, now Mrs. William Mueller, and Sophia, now Mrs. William Jenney. Mrs. Schmidt died January 20, 1916. When Christian was twenty years of age, he immigrated to America in search of a permanent home and wealth. For the first two or three years, he worked as farm laborer in Illinois and then came westward to Bates county where it seemed to him that on account of land being cheaper in price he would stand a better chance of eventually becoming a land-owner. He first located in Deer Creek township and was engaged in farming in that township until 1898, when he located in Mound township and purchased eighty acres of land which formed the nucleus around which he has built up a splendid and rich farm of two hundred forty acres, adding tracts from time to time as he was able financially. He maintains a fine herd of Durham cattle and raises Poland China hogs. Most of the grain and fodder produced on the Schmidt farm is fed to livestock on the place, thereby insuring the continued fertility of the soil.

Mr. Schmidt was first married to Elizabeth Jenney, who bore him one son. Christian, at home with his father. After the death of his first wife he was married in November, 1894, to Ida Hess, of Bates county, and to this marriage have been born five children: Lena, at home; Albert, who assisted his father on the home place; Herman, a student in Adrian

Mrs. Ida (Hess) Schmidt was born January 25, 1872, in LaSalle county, Illinois, daughter of Gotthard and Catherine Hess, natives of Baden, Germany, who came from Illinois to Bates county, in 1879. and located on a farm two miles west of Adrian. Both are deceased. Gotthard Hess died in 1896 and Catherine (Kern) Hess died in 1907. A sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Gotthard Hess appears elsewhere in this volume in connection with the review of Edward C. Hess.

Thaddeus S. Harper, prosperous and well-known farmer of Charlotte township, has lived nearly all his life in Bates county, having been brought to this county by his parents, when he was an infant in arms, fifty years ago. He has practically "grown up with the county" and he has become an important and valued member of the great body of citizens who are continuously pushing Bates county to the front and making it one of the truly great counties of Missouri. Mr. Harper was born on a farm in Johnson county, Missouri, near the city of Warrensburg, August 24, 1867, a son of Judge R. F. Harper, concerning whom an extended review is given elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Harper was reared and educated in Bates county, completing his education at the Butler Academy. He then taught school in this county, teaching for eight winters in the home district. No. 70, better known as Grandview school. During the summer season, he diligently farmed upon his father's place. He taught school for fourteen winters, in all, and was considered a very successful teacher. He eventually purchased the farm where he is now located and which he has greatly improved until it now contains one of the most handsome farm residences in western Missouri, fitted with every convenience, containing many modern improvements, among them being an electric light plant which furnishes electric light and power for the home and farm buildings. There are two hundred acres in Mr. Harper's home farm and he owns another place of one hundred fifty acres. His first investment in land was made in 1891 and he has continued to prosper by intelligently cultivating his acreage and by raising high-bred livestock, such as the Red Polled cattle.

Mr. Harper was married on April 7, 1897, to Miss Lillian Edna Hill, wdio was born in Missouri, a daughter of Pleasant Hill, who made a settlement in Missouri as early as 1867, coming to this state from Iowa. Six children have been born to T. S. and Lillian Edna Harper, as follow: Ralph E., a gradnate of Butler High School; Carrie Margaret, who graduated from the Butler High School and is engaged in teaching at Mulberry; Rollin H., a student in Butler High School; Dorothy D.. Thaddeus S., Jr., and Theodore Roosevelt, or "Teddy," all of whom are at home.

The Republican party has always had the active and influential support of Mr. Harper and he served as chairman of the county central committee during the last campaign made by former President Roosevelt for the Presidency. He has ably filled the offices of township assessor and clerk and as delegate to the various conventions of his party held in the old days prior to the inauguration of the party primaries. Mr. Harper is a stockholder and director of the Farmers State Bank of Butler.

Monroe Burk, well-known farmer of Charlotte township, was l)orn in Union county, Indiana, June 2, 1846, a son of Lemuel and ALary Isabel (Girard) Burk, the former, a native of Indiana and the latter, a native of Virginia. The family came to Missouri and settled in Lafayette county in 1866. In 1884, they moved to Johnson county, Missouri, and afterward located in Bates county. After a long and useful life, the father died at Lees Summit. Z^Iissouri, and the mother died near Rich Hill in this county. Lemuel and ^lary Isal)el Burk were parents of ten children, eight of whom are living; John D., Washington; Angeline, wife of William Scudder, Kokomo, Indiana; ]\Irs. Sina Boland, Kansas City, Missouri; Monroe Burk, subject of this sketcli ; Conaway, Lexington, Missouri; Elliot, Amoret, ]\Iissouri; ]\Irs. Ida Culp, Kansas City; and Mrs. Belle Atherton, Holden, Johnson county.

The 1)Ovhood days of Monroe Burk were spent in Indiana, where he attended the district scliools. He accompanied his parents to ?^lissouri in 1866 and in 1881 began his own career in Bates county, locating on a farm in Charlotte township, three-fourths of a mile east of his present homestead. Air. Burk has accumulated a large farm of two hundred eighty acres of good land and is engaged extensively in raising and feeding livestock for the markets. He handles Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and each year adds to the number of splendid mules produced in this county.

dren: Emmet, a farmer of Charlotte township; Rose, wife of Morton Jackson, Linn county, Kansas ; John, residing in Washington ; Luki, wife of Herbert Steele, of Bntler, Missouri; Lloyd, of College Station, Texas; Ray, at home; Edna, wife of Edlin Allison; Perry, at home; and Maud, at home. The mother of this fine family is a daughter of John Wesley and Jennie (Flagler) Evans, natives of Ohio, wdio located in Missouri in the early fifties. They later homesteaded in Kansas, remaining in that state for a few years and then lived for about ten years near Kickapoo, Leavenworth county, Kansas, after which they went to Newton county, Missouri. Following a short residence in Newton countv, they lived for two years in Jackson county and then removed to Lafavette county, later residing for a time in Kansas City. Airs. Burk's father died in Lafayette and her mother died in Kansas City.

Mr. Burk has been a life-long Democrat, one who has served his political party faithfully and well and served as a township collector of Charlotte township one term. Mr. and Mrs. Burk are well and favorably known in their neighborhood and are among Bates county's most sdl^stantial citizens.

J. M. Hinson, a leading farmer and stockman of Charlotte township, was born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, November 22, 1848. Pie is a son of J. G. and Lucy (Gigsby) Hinson, ])oth of whom were born and reared in old Virginia and were of Irish descent. Thev spent their lives in their native state and they were parents of five children, tlie subject of this review being the only member of this family who came west to Missouri. J. G. Hinson served with the Confederate armv and was present with his command at the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. For three years following tlie final surrender, Mr. Hinson was not allowed to cast a vote at election time in his native state during tlie period of reconstruction. He followed farming during his whole life and was also engaged in merchandising.

In 1872, J. M. Hinson left his native state and came westward in search of a home and fortune. He first located at Waverlv, Favette county, Missouri, and there engaged in farming until 1882, during wifich year he came to Bates county and after a year's residence in A\'est Boone township, he locate<l in Charlotte township and l:)ought his present fine farm. He owns two hundred acres of good land located seven and one-half miles west of Butler and is extensively engaged in general farming and stock raising, his cattle being mostly of the Durham breed. Mr. Hinson purchased his farm in 1892.

Mr. Hinson was married in 1877 to Esther Johnson, of Fayette county, Missouri, and to this union have been born three children, as follow: Liliie, wife of Harry Simpson, Elkhart township; Nova, at home; and Ewell, living in South Dakota. Mrs. Hinson died in 1884. Mr. Hinson is a Democrat, but is inclined to vote independently according to the dictates of his conscience and after weighing carefully in his mind the qualifications of the various candidates for political preferment at election time.

M. M. Carroll, well and favorably known farmer and stockman of Lone Oak township, living on a well-improved place located five and a half miles distant from the court house in Butler, was born in McDonough county, Illinois, a son of Daniel M. Carroll, who was a scion of the famous family of Carrolls, whose founder settled in Virginia in colonial days. The first of the family in America was Daniel Carroll, a native of Ireland, who settled in Virginia over two hundred years ago and whose descendants have been prominent in American affairs. Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a direct descendant of this Daniel Carroll.

Daniel M. Carroll, father of M. M. Carroll, was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, a son of Daniel Carroll, a native of the Keystone state, who, with his brother, William Carroll, became pioneer settlers in the state of Illinois. Three of his sons, Daniel M., John, and James R., served as members of the Seventy-eighth Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. John Carroll died in Libby Prison. James R. Carroll served for two years and was discharged on account of physical disability. Daniel M. Carroll was a member of Company I, Seventy-eighth Illinois Infantry and served for three years and ten months in the Union service. He was wounded during the assault on Missionary Ridge, but served until the close of the war. After the close of his war service, he farmed in McDonough county, Illinois until March, 1875, wdien he came to Bates county and located in Lone Oak township, building up a fine farm which is now occupied by his son, W'illiam. He died in 1898 at the age of sixty-three years. While he espoused the principles of the Democratic party, he never sought political preferment. In his young manhood he was married to Anna Marie Carnahan, who bore him the following children: M. A., of Summit township; S. W^, Lone Oak township; John R., deceased; Sephrenous S., deceased; Dollie. wife of Joseph Ghere, Lone Oak township; and Hattie. wife of Elijah Requa,

Lone Oak township. The mother of these children was born in Ohio, a daughter of James Harvey Carnahan, a native of Ohio, of Scotch descent. Mr. Carnahan located in Illinois in 1852 and spent the remainder of his life in McDonongh county. The mother of Mrs. Carroll was Cynthia Murphy before her marriage and she was of German descent. Mrs. Anna Marie Carroll died in 1910.

M. M. Carroll received practically all of his schooling in Illinois and was sixteen years of age when his parents came to Bates county. He attended school for some time after coming here and he began to make his own way in the world when he was twenty-four years of age. When he had accumulated some capital he purchased one hundred forty acres of farm land, upon which he carries on general farming and stock raising, paying particular attention to the raising of Shorthorn cattle, a breed which he believes is the best for beef production.

Mr. Carroll was married November 5, 1883, to Mary E. Deems, who was born and reared in Bates county, a daughter of John Deems, who came to this county in an early day from his native state of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mary E. Carroll died in 1900, leaving the following children : Grover J., a farmer of Summit township; Katie, deceased; Ross, deceased; Harvey and Percy, twins, the former of whom is dead and the latter is now in the Oklahoma oil fields; and Fred M., Lone Oak township. Later, Mr. Carroll was married to Miss Emma I. Eckles, a native of Hancock county, Illinois, daughter of James Eckles, who died after a residence of some years in Bates county. Three children have been born of this marriage: Harold, at home; Angeline, deceased; one child died in infancy.

Mr. Carroll is independent in politics. He has served as township clerk and assessor, three terms, and has filled the office of justice of the peace two terms. He also served one term as township trustee. He was a candidate for county judge in the southern district in 1896 on the People's Party ticket, and received one hundred fifty-five votes, while his two opponents received about fifty votes each in his township. Every office which he has held has practically come to him unsought as he has never asked a voter to support him during a campaign. Mr. Carroll is a member of the Presbyterian church and is a highly respected and leading citizen of Bates county. At present he is serving as deputy food administrator of Bates county. He served as draft registrar for Lone Oak township in June, 1917.

J. T. Hensley, one of the oldest resident farmers of Homer township has the distinction of being the oldest livestock buyer in Bates county. For the past forty-seven years, Mr. Hensley has been engaged in the buying and shipping of livestock and has built up a reputation for square and honest dealing with his scores of patrons which has never been equalled in Bates county or this section of Missouri. He is one of the substantial pioneer farmers of this county who enjoys the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Probably no man of his age is better or more favorably known m this section of Missouri than this sturdy farmer and stockman.

Mr. Hensley was born in Kentucky, March 4, 1846, and is a son of James Harvey and Sadie (Anderson) Hensley, both of whom were natives of old Kentucky. James Hensley was born in 1805 and clied in 1855. His wife departed this life in 1853. James Harvey Hensley was a son of Elijah Hensley, a native of England. J. T. Hensley's father was shot when the son was Imt nine years of age, and two years prior to this, his mother died - leaving four children: W^illiam Colby, who farmed in partnership with the subject of this review in Bates county until his death; T. T., subject of this sketch; Shelby, deceased; Henry, deceased. After the loss of his parents, J. T. Hensley was reared l)y a Air. Stevens until he attained the age of eighteen years. Eor two years following he worked as farm hand and then engaged in farming on his own account. In the year 1865. Mr. Hensley went to Illinois and worked by the month for two years, following which he farmed on his own account until 1869, at which time he migrated to Missouri and settled in Bates county. Mr. Hensley purchased his present home farm in 1870 and for a numlier of years he farmed with his brother, William Colby Hensley, until tlie hitter's death. 'Mr. Hensley accumulated several farms and had a considerable acreage of land in Bates county. Of late years he has disposed of the greater portion of his land holdings as the land rose in value and now^ has but the home place of one hundred twenty acres. For the past fortv-seven years, he has l^een engaged in the Ijuying and shipping of livestock and has rarely or never missed a week in being in Amoret ready to conduct his business. Mr. Hensley has shipped hundreds and probably thousands of carloads of cattle to the city markets and is the oldest stock buyer in Bates county. It is conceded that he is one of the best judges of livestock in the state of Missouri and he is widely known over this section of Missouri and the border territory of Kansas.

Mr. Hensley was married in 1S73 to Miss Carrie Orear, who died April 18. 1880, leaving two children: Ella May, widow of T. A. Wright who died February 15, 1917, and is living at Commerce, Oklahoma; Carrie, a widow, married in 1906 to F. M. Skaggs, who died May 13, 1916, and she has one child, Ella Louise, eight years old. Mr. Hensley's second marriage took place February 16, 1882, with Mamie Boone Orear, a sister of his first wife, born in Kentucky, a daughter of William D. and Selina Orear, natives of Kentucky who migrated to Missouri in 1870. Mrs. Selina Orear makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Hensley. Three children were born to this secorwl marriage: William H., member of the Live Stock Exchange and hog salesman for Zook & Zook Live Stock Commission Company, and at !he time he began was the youngest hog salesman on the exchange, a resident of Kansas City, Missouri : Albert, Farmington. Missouri ; Mamie Merle, wife of W. C. Dillard, F"armington, Missouri. Mamie Boone f Orear; Hensley was born June 11. 1866. in Kentucky, daughter of William D. and Selina (Gibson) Orear, natives of Kentucky. The Orears are of French origin, the progenitor of whom came from France with Lafayette and settled in Virginia after the Revolution. The Gibson family were Virginia stock. Selina (Gibson) Orear was a daughter of James, a son of Samuel Gibson, who came from Norfolk. Virginia, and a Kentucky pioneer. \Mlliam D. Orear was born in 1827, and died April 16. 1899. Selina Orear was born in 1836 and is still living. Carrie Henslev, deceased; Albert, Kansas City, a carpenter: John Davis. Hot Springs, Arkansas, a printer; Mrs. Mamie Boone Hensley; and Mrs. Efifie Mitchell, Kansas City. Missouri, were born to William D. and Selina Orear.

Politically, Mr. Hensley has always been allied with the Republican party but aside from assisting his friends during a political campaign and voting his convictions he takes but little interest in political matters. He is a member of the Christian church and is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having become a member of the Amoret lodge in 1907. History can give no higher nor better praise of J. T. Hensley than that his career in Bates county has been a long and honorable one and that he has conducted his business in such an honest and upright manner that he enjoys the respect, confidence and esteem of scores and hundreds of people with whom he has done' business during a long period of nearly half a century in Bates county. Despite his more than three score years and ten, he is active and

Mr. Hensley began shipping livestock in 1870, driving stock to Mulberry and thence fifteen miles to La Cygne, Kansas, the nearest shipping point. Later, he drove stock to Old West Line, twenty-five miles distant, for shipment to St. Louis. When the railroad came to Butler in 1880 he drove stock to that city for shipment. In 1894 the Kansas City & Southern w^as built through Amoret and he has since shipped from this point. In the early days he and his brother drove cattle all the way to Kansas City. *

Adelbert Requa. - The Requa family is one of the oldest of the pioneer families of western Missouri and the name of Requa is inseparably connected with the foundation of the settlement and development of Bates county and this section of Missouri. Members of this old family were founders of Harmony Mission established in the southern part of Bates county as early as 1821 and 1822. Considerable space is devoted to the history of Harmony Mission elsewhere in the historical section of this volume, to which the reader is referred. The Requa' family is of French Huguenot origin, the ancestors of the family having fied from France before the American Revolution in order to escape religious persecution.- on the part of the Roman church. The progenitors of the family in America settled in New York state, where they became prominently identified with afTairs in that state during the colonial epoch of American history. They were true patriots and espoused the cause of American Independence during the Revolutionary period of our country's history. No less than twelve members of this old family bore arms and fought for the liberties of their country in the Revolutionary War. Four members of the family were commissioned officers in the Army of Independence. Dr. William Requa, a scholarly and talented man, was one of the founders of Harmony Mission. George Requa, paternal grandfather of ''Del" Requa, whose name heads this review, was also a well-educated and devout man, one who was interested in Christianizing the Indians of the W^est. In 1826, he went to Fort Gibson, Arkansas, and was connected with the Union Indian Mission at that point. In 1827, he came to what is now Bates county, and was connected with the Harmony Indian Mission until its abandonment in the early thirties. The Requas were all people of learning and intelligence and had a wide acquaintance among the men of letters in their day. Washington Irving, the famous novelist, during his travels, paid a visit to the Requa at Har- mony Mission, and secured material for some of his stories while here. While a guest of George Requa, he took the father of "Del" Requa on his lap, Austin Requa then but an infant, and played with him.

Austin Requa, father of Adelbert, Misses Eulia and Clara Requa residing in Lone Oak township, was born at Fort Gibson, Arkansas, March 1, 1832, a son of George Requa, who first came to Bates county and located at old Harmony Mission in 1827 and made a permanent settlement in this county in 1832. The wife of George Requa was Mary Harmony Austin, whom he married in 1827 at Harmony Mission. The parents of Mary Harmony Austin were missionaries who had left their native state of Vermont to engage in mission work among the Indians of the West, teaching among the Osage Indians for a number of years. She was a cousin of Rev. R. R. Stoors, of Brooklyn, New York. When the Mission disbanded in 1832, George Requa entered government land near what was formerly known as Stumptown, north of Lone Oak. He was postmaster for some years, the postoffice being located in the Requa residence. After his death, his widow still kept the postofiice. George and Mary Harmony Requa were parents of eight children: Mary Elizabeth, wife of Levi Pixley, who was a son of Rev. Benton Pixley, of Harmony Mission; Austin: William; James; George; Lucy, wife of David Redfield. a relative of A. Redfield, of Harmony Mission; Martha; Mattie, wife of Col. A. AW Robb, who enlisted in the Union army for service during the Civil War as a private and became a colonel. A daughter of Col. Robb was the first white child born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Cyrus Requa was the youngest child of George Requa.

Austin Requa was reared a farmer in Bates county and was inured to the hardships of frontier life. When he was an infant in arms, his pjlrents made the journey from Fort Gil^son to Harmony ^Mission. A crossing of the Osag'e river was necessary. The river was filled with ice. An Indian brought the family across the stream in a canoe, made of buffalo skin, towing by means of thong held in his teeth and swimming through the icy waters. In 1856. Austin Requa married Hannah A. Butler and also entered government land in Pleasant Gap township. Three of his brothers served in the L'nion army during the Civil AA^ar. The pine lumber used in the construction of the Requa home was hauled from Pleasant Hill, a distance of sixty miles. During the Civil AA^ar, Mr. Requa resided in Kansas for a portion of the time, and also saw service under the LTnion flag in the Kansas Home Guards. AA'hen the Lone Oak Presbyterian church was organized in 1868 he was made elder, an office which he held until his death, June 6, 1910. His wife died December 15, 1889. There were five children in the family of Austin and Hannah A. Requa, namely: Clara, who resides with her brother and her sister in Lone Oak township; George B., of near Reno, Nevada; Eulia, living with "Del" and Clara Requa; Elijah Stoors, Lone Oak township; and Adelbert or "Del" Requa. The land upon which the old Requa home place was built was entered by Austin Requa from the United States government and the land patent was signed by President Franklin Pierce.

Adelbert Requa, who is farming one hundred sixty acres of land in Lone Oak township, is also cultivating forty acres owned by his sister. He was born in Pleasant Gap township, August 2, 1872. He was educated in the schools of Bates county and has always followed the pursuits of a farmer and a stockman. He raises thoroughbred Hereford cattle and is a capable farmer whose place is a model of neatness and indicates close and thorough cultivation. The Requa home place is one of the most attractive places in Bates county. The land is well watered and was formerly covered with timber which grew in the deep rich soil, which has yielded bountiful crops for many years. Mr. Requa is a genial, whole-souled fellow, a Democrat in politics, and is prominent in political circles in his native county. He has served as assessor of Pleasant Gap township and as tax collector of Lone Oak township. Mr. Requa is accounted one of the ablest and most substantial of Bates countv's citizens and the members of this famous old family are held in high esteem throughout the county. No name in Bates county historical annals has greater significance or figures more prominently than Requa. It is an honored one and is and will be forever connected with the cradling of civilization in western Missouri.

G. W. Daniel, a prominent farmer and stockman of Lone Oak township, has been identified with Bates county practically all his life. Mr. Daniel is a native of Missouri. He was born in Osage county. May 24, 1852, a son of John and jMartha (Cruse) Daniel. The father was a native of Virginia, and the mother of Kentucky. ' They settled .in Osage county, Missouri, at an early date, coming there with their respective parents. They were married in Osage county, and in 1855, came to Bates county, settling in Lone Oak township.

The Daniel familv resided in this township until Order No. 11 went into effect, when they removed to Pettis county. As a boy, G. \\\ Daniel has a distinct recollection of many of the stirring events that took place in this section during the days of the border war, both before the Civil War and after it was officially closed. He saw much of the activity of the "bushwhackers," "jayhawkers," and "redlegs" during those days. Raiding parties from both sides frequently stopped at his father's place and obtained food. It was not an uncommon thing to hear shooting and fighting going on in the vicinity almost any night. The Kansas raiders frequently drove off cattle, burned houses, and destroyed fences and other property.

Mr. Daniel's farm is located on a slight elevation three and onefourth miles south of Butler. During the Civil War times, this place was known as "Spy Mound." It got its name from the fact that "bushwhacker" pickets were frequently stationed here to watch for the approach of Kansas raiders in the vicinity of Butler. Butler could be distinctly seen from this point before the timber between here and Butler had grown to its present proportions.

In the early part of the war, Butler was a Federal military post and Mr. Daniel recalls seeing soldiers there. He also remembers the Battle of Brushy Mound, where so many negroes, who had come from Kansas to subdue the South, were killed. Mr. Daniel says after the first clash in that engagement some of the negroes, who could outrun bullets, escaped back into Kansas.

The Daniel family returned to their home in Lone Oak township in the spring of 1866 and proceeded to rebuild their home and improve the farm. Political trouble continued in the neighborhood for some time afterward. Elisha Daniel, an uncle of G. W., was murdered in his home in that vicinity after the war, and the shooting at Willowbranch church took place, in which Lindsey, Wines, and Hart were shot. In those days, people went to church heavily armed, expecting trouble, and, frequently, were not disappointed.

John Daniel, the father of G. W., followed farming in Lone Oak township until he retired. He died in 1904, his wife having passed away in 1898.

G. W. Daniel was one of a family of ten children, five of whom are living, as follow: Leander, Cedar county, Missouri; G. W., the subject of this sketch; Isaac, Lone Oak township, Bates county; Sarah, married John Silvers, Winfield, Kansas ; and Louisa, married Tom Taylor, Moscow, Idaho. Mr. Daniel received his education in the public schools, such as they were, in the pioneer days of Bates county. He attended school in an old log school house, which was located near his home in Lone Oak township. He began life as a farmer and has successfully been engaged in agricultural pursuits up to the present time. He has a fine farm of one hundred twenty acres, located three and one-fourth miles south of Butler. He is quite extensively engaged in raising cattle, as well as general farming, and is recognized as one of the progressive agriculturists of Bates county.

Mr. Daniel was united in marriage in 1876, with ]\Iiss Harriet Marsteller, a native of LaPorte, Indiana, a daughter of Randolph and Mary (Wright) Marsteller, the former, a native of Virginia and the latter, of Ohio. Mrs. Daniel came to Bates county, IMissouri, in 1857. They settled in Mount Pleasant township, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. The father died in 1882, and the mother departed this life in 1914. During the Civil War, when Order No. 11 was issued, the Marsteller family went to Pettis county, where they remained until the close of the war.

To Mr. and Airs. Daniel have been born three children : Myrtie, married L. G. Thomas, Lone Oak township; George R., Twin Falls, Idaho; and Mae, married Robert Thomas, Kimberly, Idaho.

Mr. Daniel is a Democrat. Since boyhood, he has been identified with that party. He has always taken an active interest in the upbuilding and betterment of public schools and served on the local school board for twenty years. He is a member of the Church of Christ.

Many changes have taken place in Bates county since Mr. Daniel came here, sixty-three years ago. When he was a boy, herds of deer were not an uncommon sight, and his father frequently killed deer and wild turkeys. At first, all the lumber used by the pioneers was hauled from Pleasant Hill.

Owen M. Burkhart, of Pleasant Gap township, is a native son of Missouri. He was born in Cass county, near Harrisonville, February 15, 1851, a son of Michael and Frances (Walters) Burkhart. natives of Indiana. The Burkharts were formerly from Pennsylvania, but migrated to Indiana at an early day.

The parents of O. M. Burkhart were married in Indiana and came to Missouri, probably about 1850 or a little before that date. Upon coming to this state, they located in Newton county and, shortly afterward, went to Cass county. Here they remained until 1852. when they came to Bates county and settled in Pleasant Gap township. The father bought land on Double Branches creek, about two and one-half miles

When the Civil War broke out, when it not only became unsafe but against military law to live in Bates county, the Burkhart family moved out and, during that period, they lived in Henry and Benton counties. At the close of the war, they returned to Pleasant Gap township, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. Their remains now rest in Double Branches cemetery.

O. M. Burkhart was one of a family of seven children, as follow : Robert Emanuel, deceased; Margaret, married William Allen, Weatherfield, Oklahoma; William L., Waynoka, Oklahoma; John, Monett, Missouri; Owen M., the subject of this sketch; Frances, married John Bentley and she is now deceased; and James, deceased.

The first recollection that O. M. Burkhart has is of Pleasant Gap township and Bates county as he was only one year old when he was brought to this county by his parents. He grew to manhood here and attended school in an old log school house that was located on Double Branches creek, about two miles north of the Burkhart home. Mr. Burkhart well remembers this old pioneer school house with its stone fireplace and stone chimney. The old building served its purpose and passed on, and now lives only in the memory of those whose early lives were interwoven with the old institution.

Mr. Burkhart began life for himself at the age of twenty-two, engaging in farming and stock raising. Thirty-six years ago he bought the place where he now lives. When he bought his place, it was mostly timbered land. He cleared it himself, which represents a great deal of labor, involving many years of everlastingly "keeping at it." But he is rewarded at last by being the owner of one of the most valuable farms of Bates county. He owns two hundred eighteen and one-half acres and for years successfully carried on general farming and stock raising, but for the past few years he has rented out most of his land, and is trying to take life a little easier. He has two good reasons for this: First, he can afford to. Second, he has done about one man's share of hard work.

Mr. Burkhart was married March 21, 1878, to Miss Dora L. Hall, a native of Marshalltown, Iowa, a daughter of Ansel Hall. Mrs. Burkhart came to Bates county with her parents when she was ten years old. For further history of the Hall family see sketch of E. R. Hall, a brothep of Mrs. Burkhart.

To Mr. and Mrs. Burkhart have been born the foHowing- children : Arthur C, Pleasant Gap township; Cardia May, married Burt Harkrader, Pleasant Gap township; and Vira Vivian, married David W. H. Smith, Pleasant Gap township. Mr. and Mrs. Burkhart are members of the Christian church. Mr. Burkhart is a Democrat. He has held the office of justice of the peace two terms, and is well and favorably known in Bates county.

Dr. William D. Vint, - During the fifteen years in which Dr. W. D. Vint, of Howard township, has practiced his profession in Bates county, he has won a name and place for himself as a kind, able, and learned medical practitioner who has achieved prominence among the leading professional men of the county. William D. Vint was born in Pendleton county. West Virginia, August 15, 1856, a son of John and Mary (McOuain) Vint, natives of West Virginia. John Vint was a son of William Vint, a native of Ireland who immigrated to America and settled in Virginia. Mary (McOuain) Vint was a daughter of Duncan McOuain, a native of Scotland. John Vint was a farmer by vocation and migrated to Illinois in the spring of 1876 and made settlement in Coles county. He resided there until his death in the fall of the same year. Nine children were left fatherless, namely: George Augustus, deceased; John Marshall, deceased; William D., subject of this review; Mrs. Sonora Inez Hopper, Rose Hill, Illinois; Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Stiver, Tuscola, Illinois; Mrs. Catherine Wayne, living in Michigan; Mrs. Jemima Jane (Waters) Shmore, Illinois; Mrs. Delia May Andrews, who died in Arkansas; Mrs. Verna Viola Kibler, Charleston, Illinois.

William D. Vint remained at home on his mother's farm until he attained the age of sixteen years. He received a good education, and being of an ambitious turn of mind, educated himself for the teaching profession vO^hich he followed very successfully for a number of years, or until 1884, when he began the practice of medicine. Doctor Vint taught in the public schools of Virginia, West Virginia and Illinois. His last position was at Hindsboro, Illinois, where for three years he was principal of the Hindsboro high school. During his residence there he took a very prominent part in the civic and governmental affairs of the city, serving as a member of the town board and as mayor of Hindsboro for two years. In the meantime he had begun the study of medicine and completed his medical studies at the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, graduating from that institution in 1884. He practiced in Hindsboro for fourteen years or until 1898. He then moved to Virginia, where he purchased a farm and practiced medicine until 1900. Doctor Vint's Virginia farm adjoined the old home place of President Madison in Virginia. In 1900 he sold his farm in Virginia and came to Bates county, Missouri, where he purchased a farm of three hundred twenty acres located northwest of Hume, Missouri. Eight years later he sold this farm in 1908 and purchased his present home farm of three hundred twenty acres located east of Hume and moved to tlie place in 1909. Doctor Vint's home is an attractive one, the residence being reached by a driveway from the road which is bordered by a large grove of trees. His medical practice in Howard township, Hume, and the surrounding country keeps him busily employed and his skill as a medical practitioner is exceeded by none in Bates county.

Dr. W. D. Vint was married July 5, 1880, to Miss Louisa Hall, who was born in Coles county, Illinois, February 12, 1860, a daughter of Edward and Sallie (Walkup) Hall, natives of Kentucky, who emigrated from their native state to Illinois in the early fifties. Edward Hall died in 1894, his wife preceding him in death in 1879. To Dr. William D. and Louisa Vint, there have been born two children: Mrs. Maude Elizabeth Carter, of Bayard, Nebraska, mother of two sons, Robert Vint, and Max; and Teresa Lee, wife of Alex A\'ilson, who is managing the Vint farm. Mrs. Maude Carter, the eldest daughter, is a high-school graduate and taught school for several years prior to her marriage.

Dr. Vint is a Democrat in politics and is affiliated with the modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the Chicago Medical Institute and holds a diploma from that organization. He endeavors to keep abreast' of the latest developments of medical science and has won a warm place in the hearts of the people of his section of Bates county by his kind ministrations and proven ability as a professional gentleman.

E. R. Hall, one of the leading farmers and stockmen of Bates county, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Champaign county in 1853, a son of Ansel C. and Alvira L. (Cushman) Hall, both natives of New York. The Hall family left the state of Ohio and went to Iowa in 1857, when E. R., the subject of this sketch was about four years old. They located near Marshalltown, Iowa, where they remained until 1861, when they went to Sangamon coimty, Illinois. Here they remained until October 20, 1869, when they came to Missouri, settling in Pleasant Gap township, Bates county. The father bought eighty acres of land in Pleasant Gap township and spent the remainder of his life here. In addition to following farming, he conducted a saw-mill for a number of years. Both parents are now deceased.

E. R. Hall was one of a family of seven children, born to his parents, as follow: Julia, married Sanford Thorp and they live near Sioux City, Iowa; Frank, deceased; Charles, died in childhood; Adelaide, deceased; Lewis, lives in Pleasant Gap township; E. R., the subject of this sketch: and Dora L., married O. M. Burkhart, Pleasant Gap township.

Mr. Hall was educated in the public schools, attending school in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. Like his father, he was engaged in the saw-mill business for a number of years as well as in farming. In 1881, he purchased fifty-one acres where his present residence is located. He has added to his original purchase, from time to time, and now owns one of the best-improved farms in Bates county, which consists of five hundred forty acres of productive land. A few years ago he purchased the Requa farm just west of his old homestead, where his son now resides. This place is known as the "Seven Oaks" farm, so named from the fact that there were seven large oak trees in the vicinity of the residence. This is ^ very attractive place, but not more so than Mr. Hall's home place, which is well-improved with large barns and a comfortable, modern farm residence. Both the "Seven Oaks" and Mr. Hall's home place are two of the attractive farm properties in Bates county.

Mr. Hall was united in marriage December 21, 1876 with Miss Louisa Eckles, a daughter of James and Rebecca (White) Eckles, and a native of Adams county, Illinois. Her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother in Illinois. The Eckles family came to Missouri and settled in Bates county in 1866. The parents are both now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Hall have been born the following children: Ivan Elmer, who resides on the old Requa place, above mentioned ; Addic B., married Robert Lyle of Lone Oak township; and Ethel May. who died at the age of nineteen years.

Mr. Hall is one of the successful high-grade stockmen of Bates county. He raises registered Poland China hogs and Durham and Shorthorn cattle, and has some very valuable animals on his place.

Mr. Hall is a Democrat, although inclined to be independent in his political notions and has never aspired to hold political of^ce. He is one of Bates county's substantial citizens.

William A. Baker, of Pleasant Gap township, is perhaps the bestknown man in Bates county, a successful stockdealer. So extensive and successful has he been in his chosen field of endeavor that he is frequently referred to as "The Hog King."

Mr. Baker is a native son of Bates county. He was born two miles north of Pleasant Gap, December 9, 1867, a son of Zephaniah and Martha E. (Hale) Baker, natives of Indiana. The father went to Iowa with his widowed mother at a very early day. He came here prior to the Civil \^ar. During that conflict, he returned to Iowa, where he remained until peace was declared. He then returned to Missouri, settling in Pleasant Gap township. Bates county, and here spent the remainder of his life, with the exception of one year in Oklahoma. He died in 1907 and the mother departed this life three years later.

William A. Baker is one of a family of twelve children born to his parents, all of whom are living, as follow: Joseph, the present sheriff of Bates county; Mrs. Lillie Ferl, resides on the old home place in Pleasant Gap township; John T., Rich Hill, Missouri; Mrs. Mary Griffin, Pleasant Gap township; Mrs. Anna Olen, lives in Oregon; William A., the subject of this sketch ; J. H., lives near Spruce, Missouri ; Mrs. Thena Beard, Parsons, Kansas; Mrs. Ella Olen, Parsons, Kansas; Mrs. Ida Davis, Enid, Oklahoma; C. Z., Pleasant Gap township; and G. W., Summit township.

Mr. Baker was reared in Pleasant Gap township and he there attended the public schools. He engaged in farming and stock raising in early life, and has since made such his occupation. About ten years ago, he began raising registered Poland China hogs and he has been unusually successful in this line of endeavor. Pie raises about two hundred head annually, which he sells in various parts of the country. The high standard of his registered stock is well known to breeders and the demand is generally more than he can supply. He is also engaged in breeding registered Aberdeen Angus cattle. He engaged in this branch of business about seven years ago and at this writing has seventy-eight head of these cattle, which compose one of the finest herds to be found in western Missouri. Mr. Baker has a farm consisting of three hundred sixty acres, well adapted to stock raising and general farming.

May 15, 1881, Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Maggie Griffin, of Harwood, Vernon county, Missouri. Six children have been born to this union, as follow: Claude A., Pleasant Gap township; Clar- ence H., Pleasant Gap township; Alice, married Verni Geheere, Pleasant Gap township; ]\Iarie, a student in the Butler High School ; Frederick H. and Lydia, at home.

Mr. Baker is a stanch supporter of the policies and principles of the Democratic party and takes a commendable interest in local political affairs. He has served as collector of Pleasant Gap township two terms. He is a member of the Christian church and of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Baker is one of the Bates county's most progressive citizens,

Abner L. Wix, of Pleasant Gap township, is a native son of Bates county. He was born in Pleasant Gap township, June 18, 1855, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Beatty) Wix, the former a native of Overton county, Tennessee, and the latter, of Kentuckv.

Joseph Wix, the father, was a very early settler in this section of Missouri. He was born June 15, 1820. He located in what is now Pleasant Gap tow^nship, in 1836, and spent the remainder of his life here, engaged in farming and stock raising, except during the period of the Civil War. He was a Union man and went to Kansas at that time and lived in Jefferson county. He served in the State Militia during the early part of the war and was severely injured at the Clear Creek fight by his horse falling, so that he was unfit for military service after that. One of his sons, John, was killed during the war. The A\'ix home was devastated during the w'ar. At the close of the war. the family returned to Pleasant Gap township, rebuilt their home, and improved the place, and here the parents spent the remainder of their lives.

Joseph Wix was married three times. A. L. \\''ix. the subject o/ this sketch, was one of the children born of his father's first marriage. The others were, as follow: Sarah E., deceased; John, who was killed during the Civil War; Perry, deceased; Clark, who lives in Deepwater township; Thomas H., Yates Center, Kansas; and Rev. Lewis L., Deepwater township. For further particulars regarding the life of Joseph Wix, the reader is referred to the biography of Clark Wix.

A. L. AA'ix spent his boyhood days in Pleasant Gap township and there attended the public schools. He has been engaged principallv in farming and stock raising, with the exception of ten years, when he was engaged in the mercantile business in Appleton and Filley, Missouri.

Mr. Wix has traveled extensively and during the course of his trips has covered twenty-eight states. He was first married ]\Iay 31, 1880, to Miss Elizabeth Ellis, a native of Indiana. Three children were 1:)orn to this union, one of whom is living: John A., who resides in Bates county. A few years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Wix was united in marriage with Miss Clementine Wilems, a native of Texas, and to this union have been born six girls, as follow: Mary, married John W. Farrell, Pleasant Gap township; Annie; Rose Lee, married Claude Baker, Pleasant Gap township; Nellie, married Arthur Baker, Pleasant Gap township; Lena and Sallie.

Mr. Wix has a valuable farm of eighty acres in Pleasant Gap township, where he is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. He raises registered Poland China hogs, and has the best strain of that breed in the country. He is also a breeder of registered Jersey cattle.

Although Mr. Wix is comparatively a young man he has seen many changes in the course of a half century's development of Bates county. He remembers seeing deer by the herd in this vicinity and has killed game, such as wild turkeys and prairie chickens.

V. J. Cumpton, M. D., a well-known physician and surgeon of Bates county, is a native of Missouri, a member of a pioneer family of this state. He was born in Calhoun, Henry county, in 1864, a son of John M. and Angeline Elizaljeth (Hedrick) Cumpton.

John M. Cumpton was a native of Howard county, Missouri, a descendant of an old Southern family. He was a son of Thomas Cumpton, a native of Tennessee, whose parents were North Carolinans. John M. Cumpton settled in Bates county in 1853, locating in Deepw^ater township. His father, Thomas Cumpton also settled in Deepwater township and there spent the remainder of his life. Both the father and the son entered government land in Deepwater township and the Doctor's mother now resides on the old Cumpton homestead, which his grandfather entered from the government in 1853.

When the Civil War broke out, John M. Cumpton's sympathy was with the Union. He entered the Federal service and served as orderly sergeant in Captain Newberry's Company. At the close of the war he returned to Deepwater township, where he engaged in farming and stock raising, and he was considered one of the successful men of the community. Politically, he was a Democrat, but he was inclined to be progressive in his political ideas. He supported the ''Greenback" partv about the time that that party became a national factor, and he also was a Populist, when that wave of political sentiment spread over the country. It mattered not to him what name a party bore. If its principles were progressive, he supported it. When he beheved that he was right, he was unfaltering in his political principles. His outspoken political ideas made him a number of political enemies. He felt that he could afford to be fearless in expressing his political views, for he never aspired to hold political ofifice. He died October 5, 1911, aged seventy-nine years. His widow now resides at the old homestead in Deepwater township. She is a native of Indiana, of Kentucky parentage.

Doctor Cumpton was one of a family of ten children born to his parents, five of whom grew to maturity : O. W., Spruce, Missouri ; Dr. V. J., the subject of this sketch; W. E., Deepwater township; Mary E., married Joe Borland, Deepwater township; and C. S., who resides at the old homestead in Deepwater township.

Doctor Cumpton was reared in Deepwater township. He received his preliminary education in the public schools, after which he entered the University Medical College of Kansas City, where he was graduated March 23, 1897, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He had practiced his profession before receiving his degree.

After completing the course, he practiced for one year at Mayesburg, Missouri. In 1898, he engaged in the practice at Pleasant Gap, and it was not long until he built up a large practice. He is a capable physician and has met with uniform success in his chosen profession. He has also been successful in surgery.

While Doctor Cumpton attends to a large practice, he has various interests outside of his profession. He is particularly interested in stock raising. He has a fine herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle and he owns considerable farm property in Pleasant Gap township. He has a fine farm of two hundred forty acres, besides his property in Pleasant Gap.

Doctor Cumpton was united in marriage in 1900 with Miss Mary Elizabeth Nafus, daughter of Jacob P. and Mary (Davis) Nafus, very early settlers in Bates county. Jacob P. Nafus was born in Kentucky in 1809 and came to Pleasant Gap township in 1844. He was a successful farmer and stockman. He died January 23, 1897. His widow, who bore the maiden name of Mary Davis, was born near Spruce, Henry county, March 4. 1838, a daughter of James, and Sarah (Beaty) Davis, the former, a native of Tennessee and the latter, of Kentucky. They settled in Henry county, about 1830. Mrs. Nafus now resides on the old home place in Pleasant Gap township. She is a woman of remarkable mental and physical capabilities for one her age.

Doctor Cumpton is a member of the County, State, and American Medical Associations, of the Masonic Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons No. 140, Butler, Missouri, and he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Christian church at Double Branches.

Clifford J. Lane, of Pleasant Gap township, is one of the extensive stockmen and farmers of Bates county. He was born October 20, 1874, on the place where he now resides. He is a son of James C. and Mary (Fagan) Lane, natives of Ohio. James C. Lane was born near Cincinnati. When the war broke out, he enlisted in the Union army, serving three years and four months in the Fifty-fourth Ohio Infantry. He participated in many important engagements, but was never wounded nor taken prisoner.

In 1867, James C. Lane came to Missouri and located in Bates county and followed farming in partnership with a brother about a year. He then bought land and engaged in farming and the stock business and met with more than ordinary success. During the course of his career in this county, he accumulated about thirteen hundred acres of land. He divided a great deal of this between his children sometime before his death. He died January 14, 1916, aged eighty-four years. For several years prior to his death, he had lived in Rich Hill and was retired from active participation in business affairs. He was a Republican and took an active part in politics. At one time he was a candidate on his party ticket for representative from Bates county. His widow now resides at Rich Hill.

To James C. and Mary (Fagan) Lane were born the following children: Samuel, who lives in Oregon; John, Arkansas; Clifford J., the subject of this sketch; and George, a physician and surgeon at Rich Hill, Missouri.

Clifford J. Lane received his education in the public schools and Butler Academy. At an early age, he began farming in partnership with his father. He has followed that line of industry to the present time and is regarded as one of the successful farmers and stockmen of Bates county. He owns a splendid farm of five hundred eighty-seven acres. While his business is principally feeding cattle for the market, he raises large quantities of grain. During the year of 1917, he raised about four thousand bushels of corn. The year of 1916, he and his partner handled and prepared for the market over five hundred head of cattle and, at this writing, December, 1917, he is feeding four hundred fiifty head. His farm is well equipped with numerous barns and sheds for the stock business. The Lane residence is one of the most complete farm homes to be found in Bates county. It was built in 1911 and is complete in all details.

Mr. Lane was married March 5, 1897, to Miss Delta Gilliard, a native of Nebraska. She is a daughter of John Gilliard, who died in Nebraska in 1915. Her mother now resides in Nebraska.

To Mr. and Mrs. Lane have been born four children, three of whom are living: Vera, a student in the Rich Hill High School; Mary, also a student in the Rich Hill High School; and Aileen, attending the public schools, at home. William died at the age of two years.

Mr. Lane is a Republican. He takes an active part in political matters. He is now serving his third term as trustee of Plesaant Gap township. He is public-spirited and progressive and always stands ready to do his part in the upbuilding and betterment of his county.

Horace Benton Owen, president of the Bank of Merwin, and the senior member of the milling and grain firm of Owen and Groves, Merwin, Missouri, was born at Greencastle, Indiana, Putnam county, December 7, 1859. He is a son of Reuben Smith and Eveline (Piercey) Owen, both of whom were born and reared in the Hoosier state. They removed to Independence, Missouri, in 1868 and after a residence there of a little over two years, they returned to Greencastle, where the father again took up farming in his native state. In 1885, the family again moved West, locating this time on a farm near Paoli, Kansas. One year later they located on an unimproved tract of land located north of ]\Ierwin in Bates county, Reuben Owen dying there in 1892. Reuben and Eveline Owen were parents of the following children: Edgar and Edwin, Kansas City, Missouri; H. B., subject of this review; Mrs. Sallie Kain, Fulton, Missouri; Mrs. Flora Yingst, Merwin, Missouri; Mrs. N. O. Davis, living at Sugar Creek, near Kansas City.

H. B. Owen accompanied his parents to Bates county and resided vrith his father on the home place until the latter's death. He retained the home farm until the spring of 1902. He then sold it and locating in Merwin, he operated a creamery for one year, after which he leased the plant for a time and again took charge of it, establishing a milling and grain, hay and coal business. He operated the business;

Horace Benton Owen

The Owen Milling Company manufactures corn meal, chop feed, and Graham flour for purely local consumption, and the enterprise is a decided convenience for the farmers in this section. Mr. Owen has been operating the mill since 1905, and the initial building was erected in 1902. In 1906 he established his grain-buying and shipping business which is in a flourishing condition.

On February 13, 1895, Mr. Owen was married to Annie Patterson, born in Ohio, a daughter of John and Elmira (McDonough) Patterson, who migrated to Anderson county, Kansas, in 1883, and after one year's residence in that county they settled in Cass county, Missouri, where both died, the former dying in 1894 and the latter departing this life in 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Owen have one adopted son, Russell, aged ten years.

Politically, Mr. Owen has always been allied with the Republican party and is an influential leader of his party in his section of the county. He served as tax collector, constable, and justice of the peace of West Boone township. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and has generally taken the lead in all enterprises which have been intended to advance the interests of his home town of Merwin, of which he is the leading citizen in many ways. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Merwin and is president of this thriving financial concern. The Merwin Christian church is a living monument to his push and energy and devout interest in religious works. He was the leading spirit in the organization of this congregation and the chairman of the board of trustees which built the church, being pro1)ably the heaviest contributor to the building fund. He served as deacon of the church from its founding until he became elder of the congregation in 1911, and is also serving as chairman of the board of trustees. Mr. Owen enjoys the respect, esteem, and confidence of the people of his home town and vicinity and has built up a splendid reputation for business integrity and honor which places him in the front rank of Bates county's best citizens.

R. R. Hamilton, cashier of the Bank of Amoret, is a native son of Bates county. He was born, July 15, 1882, on a farm one and onefourth miles northwest of Amoret. He is a son of J. B. and Emma G. (Gibson) Hamilton, well-known and substantial residents of Bates county.

J. B. Hamilton, the father, was born in Iowa in 1858, a son of WilHam and Dorothy (Paisley) Hamilton, natives of Ohio and early settlers of Iowa. Both came with their parents to the state of Iowa when it w'as in process of settlement and were practically reared on the frontiers of civilization. It is only natural to expect that William Hamilton preferred the pioneer life and was ever in the vanguard of settlers who were opening the great West and paving the way for the establishment of government. He was married in 1858 and shortly afterward joined the hosts of "Free State" men who located in Kansas, where he resided until his death in 1913. William Hamilton was a stanch "Free State" man. He became well-to-do in his adopted state. Prior to locating in Kansas, he joined the rush of gold-seekers to California in 1849 and made the long trip overland with a party which left Sioux City. He and his brother, John, engaged in the saw-mill business in California. John preferred to remain on the coast and became wealthy.

J. B. Hamilton was the first-born of his father's family and was reared to manhood in Kansas. He resided in that state until 1881, when he made his permanent location in Homer township, Bates county, Missouri. He has built up a splendid and productive farm from raw prairie land and has accumulated a total of one hundred forty-five acres, which are well improved. Mr. Hamilton is accounted a good, industrious citizen of the type that has pushed Bates county into the forefront with the leading counties of Missouri. He was married in July, 1881, to Emma Gibson, who has borne him the following children: R. R., subject of this review; W. P., a successful farmer residing within three miles of Amoret; O. V., clerk in Hall's Mercantile Store at Amoret ; H. E., a farmer residing in Linn county, Kansas; Myrtle. H. B., and J. P., at home with their parents. The mother of these children was born January 7, 1860, and departed this life February 22, 1917. She was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, a daughter of Robert and Martha (Hamilton) Gibson, who were natives of South Carolina and left their native state on account of a pronounced abhorrence of the institution of slavery, coming to Illinois during the earliest period of the settlement of that state. They came to Linn county, Kansas, in 1878. Robert Gibson settled on a farm in Linn county and resided there until his early death in 1882. Mrs. Gibson died in 1898. They were adherents of the Presbyterian faith. Both the Hamilton and Gibson families have been prominent in the affairs of the Presbyterian church. W^illiam Hamilton was for manv vears a ruling elder of the church and became an elder of the church of the United Presbyterian faith in Linn county upon its formation in 1858. He was succeeded by his son, J. B. Hamilton, who served until of late years, when he was succeeded by his son, R. R. Hamilton. John Hamilton, father of William Hamilton, was an elder of the church when the family resided in Ohio.

R. R. Hamilton, subject of this review, was educated in the public schools of Amoret and Pleasanton, Kansas. Following his public-school and high-school education, he pursued a business course at Brown's Business College in Kansas City. After securing his business training he was employed in the Hall mercantile establishment in Amoret, from 1902 to 1906, inclusive. In the latter year he became cashier of the Bank of Amoret. He is now capably filling this position. Mr. Hamilton was married on October 15, 1908, to Miss Zola Davidson, a daughter of F. M. and C. S. Davidson, residents of Amoret. Mrs. Hamilton was born and reared in Bates county.

Mr. Hamilton, subject of this review, is a Republican in politics and takes a keen interest in the affairs of his party in Bates county but is not an office-seeker. He is a ruling elder of the United Presbyterian church of Amoret and succeeded to this position in July, 1917. He is a leader in civic and church affairs of his home town and is fast making a reputation for himself as a capable and efficient banking man and ranks high among the younger bankers of his native county.

Carl F. Hall, proprietor of the leading mercantile establishment of Amoret, is one of the successful business, men of Bates county. The Hall store was established in 1901 and the trade of this concern has been constantly growing during the past sixteen years. The store is housed in a large building and fully stocked with groceries, dry goods, queensware, hardware, feeds, etc. It has a distinctive appearance from the average general store found in sm-all towns, and resembles a department store marked for the quantity and excellence of the goods on display. Mr. Hall handles country produce and is a shipper of eggs, butter, and poultry, which are brought to his store by the farmers of the vicinity.

Carl F. Hall w^as born July 29, 1878, at Trading Post. Kansas. He is a son of Austin W. and Caroline (Fisk) Hall, both of whom were natives of Vermont and descended from old New England families. Austin W. Hall came West in 1856 as a "Free State" man and made a permanent settlement in Linn county, Kansas. During the border troubles and the Civil War period, he served in the State Militia. He home-

Steaded land in Linn county and operated a general store at Trading Post. He also placed in operation one of the first flouring and grist mills in that section of Kansas and became widely and favorably known as a successful and able business man whose influence in the affairs of his county was marked. He died in Linn county in 1900 at the age of sixty-nine years. Mrs. Hall died in 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Austin W. Hall were parents of the following children: Amos Hall, a merchant of Amsterdam, Missouri; John, an attorney at Pleasanton, Kansas; and Carl F., subject of this review.

Carl F. Hall was educated in the public schools of Linn county and began doing for himself at the age of twenty-one years. When a youth he was employed in his father's store and he also learned the miller's trade. When he became of age he, with his brother, operated the Hall store at Trading Post and also operated the mill wdiich had been built by his father. In partnership with his brother, Amos, he became engaged in the milling business in Amoret, Bates county, in 1899, and this partnership continued for two years. He then established the Hall mercantile store, which has been a remarkable success.

Mr. Hall w^-as married in 1900 to Miss Nellie Hicks, of Pleasanton, a daughter of Harry and Sarah Hicks. Two children have been born of this marriage : Thelma, aged fifteen years, now a student in the x\moret High School; and Dorothy, aged six years. Mr. Hall is a Republican in politics and a good citizen as well as successful business man. A likable personality, honesty in his business dealings, progressive tendencies, ability and ambition to forge ahead have placed him in the front rank of Bates county's merchants.

Wilson C. Carpenter, former trustee of Homer township, now living retired at Amoret, has lived in Missouri for the past fifty years and during his residence in Bates county he has made a splendid record as an agriculturist and a citizen who has had the best interests of his community and county at heart.

The family, of which Wilson C. Carpenter is a worthy scion, is a very old one in America and an interesting family genealogy has been compiled, brief extracts from which indicate that the founder of the Carpenters in America was Henry Carpenter I, alias Heinrich Zimmerman, who was born in Switzerland, immigrated to America in 1706, and made a settlement in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Emanuel Carpenter H, his son, born in 1702, commissioned a judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1759, was for a period of seventeen years a member of the Colonial Assembly, and he was a colleague and friend of Benjamin Franklin. He was a member of the Committee of Public Safety and a noted patriot during the War of the American Revolution. His influence was so strong that he carried all the Carpenters with him in the struggle for American Independence. The family furnished thirteen soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Emanuel Carpenter HI, son of Emanuel H, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and died on his farm near Lancaster, Ohio. He was a soldier of the Revolution and served in Captain John Roland's Regiment recruited in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He was a judge of the Court of Lancaster County Sessions and a member of the State Assembly. Pie removed to Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1798 and named the city of Lancaster in honor of his old home county. He was a member of the First Constitutional Assembly of Ohio and was the first presiding judge of the court of Quarter Sessions held in Fairfield county, Ohio. Emanuel Carpenter IV accompanied his parents to Ohio in 1798. In the year 1814 he was appointed land appraiser for Athens county, Ohio. In 1807 he was elected as the first sheriff of Fairfield county. He served as a member of the Ohio Legislature in 1813. He was owner of a tract of four hundred thirty-seven acres of land, upon which the city of Lancaster, Ohio, is now located. Ezra Carpenter, father of the subject of this review^ was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1803 and was left an orphan when still a child. In boyhood, he was apprenticed to the firm of Ring & Rice, woolen manufacturers, and learned the woolen trade. In 1824, he was married to Miss Sarah Reese, a daughter of General David Reese. She died in 1847 and in 1856 he married Martha Cochran, of Delaware county, Ohio. For several years, he was engaged in woolen manufacture in Fairfield and Delaw^are counties, Ohio, and shortly after his second marriage he migrated to Iowa and made a settlement in Jones county, where he was extensively engaged in farming and woolen manufacture. In 1867 he removed to Newton county, Missouri, where he resided until his death, August 13, 1888. He was a strong antislavery man and a great student of history and politics. Ezra Carpenter was first allied with the Whigs and then with the Republicans. His wife, Martha (Cochran) Carpenter, mother of the subject of this review, was born in 1823 and died in 1880.

and remained in that county until 1885, when he went to Indian territory and engaged in farming and cattle raising on a large scale. He resided in the territory until 1896, when he located permanently in Bates county, where he purchased one hundred sixty acres of land located in Homer township, two miles east of Amoret. This tract was indifferently improved at the time of Mr. Carpenter's taking possession and he at once set to work to erect better buildings and increase the productivity of the farm. He succeeded in his undertaking and in 1913 decided to rent his land and to remove to Amoret, where he has a comfortable residence and a fertile tract of five acres of land in the eastern part of the town.

The marriage of Wilson C. Carpenter and Miss Ida Shefler occurred in 1887. Mrs. Ida Carpenter was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of John and Tabitha (Hurtman) Shefler, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The Sheflers left Wisconsin in 1882 and located in Newton county, Missouri, where both spent the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1884.

Mr. Carpenter has always been allied with the Republican party and he has always taken an active interest in his party's activities. ' He is one of the leaders of the citizenry of Homer township and served as trustee of his township for four years, performing satisfactorily the duties of his ofifice. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have many warm friends in Bates county.

Charles Coleman, farmer, stockman, real estate and insurance agent at Hume, Missouri, one of the younger generation of citizens of Bates county, a resident of this county for the past twelve years, has made a record in this section of Missouri second to none for an individual his age, a record superior to that made by many older men. He is a progressive, enterprising citizen who has already made his mark in the community. Mr. Coleman was born October 20, 1875, in Cass county, Illinois, a son of William and Nancy J. (McLin) Coleman.

William Coleman, his father, was born in Prussia, German Empire. He, as well as four brothers, bearing the family name of "Kuhlman," immigrated to America and all, excepting one, changed the name to the English translation, Coleman. William Coleman came to this country a poor immigrant, located in Cass county, and achieved a comfortable competence as a tiller of the soil. He began his career as a farm hand in Illinois in 1858, at the age of seventeen years. Not long afterward, he rented his employer's farm and continued as a valued and successful tenant of this place for a long period of forty years. As the years passed, Mr. Coleman invested his savings in Cass county land and accumulated a half-section of valuable farm land. He died in October, 1916, at the age of seventy-five years. He was born in 1841. Two brothers, Charles and Henry Coleman, served with the Union forces during the Civil War. William Coleman was father of five children: Edgar, Beardstown, Illinois; John and Arthur, both of Beardstown, Illinois; Charles, subject of this review; and Mrs. Ella Davis, Bozeman, Montana. William Coleman left behind him a reputation as an honest, enterprising and reliable citizen, one whose word was considered as good as his bond and he bequeathed to his children the heritage of right living, inspiration of which has enabled them to forge ahead in the world.

Charles Coleman received his education in the public schools of Beardstown, Illinois, and at Business College at Jacksonville, Illinois. He first engaged in farming on his father's land and then began farming on his own account on rented land. Due to the excellent reputation as a business man and farmer which his father had established during his many years of residence in Cass county, the young man had no difiticulty in getting financial backing for his farming operations and he was very successful. Land rose to a high price per acre in his native county and he believed that he could get better value for his savings by coming to Missouri. Accordingly, he came to Bates county in 1906 and invested his capital in seven hundred thirty-six acres of land, which he converted into an extensive stock farm, known as "Oak Lawn." A considerable portion of his land is located in the southeast part of Howard township and a part is in Vernon county. Mr. Coleman has dealt largely in land since coming to Missouri and, in the fall of 1913, he located in Hume. In October of 1916, he engaged in the insurance and real estate business at Hume. Mr. Coleman bought his first farm in Cass county, Illinois, at a time when he had no capital whatever, but he made good, sold out at a great increase over and above the original purchase price, and invested the proceeds in land which was held much cheaper in this county. He has never regretted the change and has identified himself heart and soul with affairs in Bates county during his residence here.

Mr. Coleman was married in 1897 to Miss Ada T. Lee, of Cass county, Illinois, a daughter of Lycurgus Lee. Her mother, who was a Miss Reams prior to her marriage, is deceased, and her father lives in

Illinois. Two children have been born to this marriage : Verna May, aged eighteen years, a student in the Hume High School; and Charles Lee, aged ten years.

The Republican party has always had the allegiance of Mr. Coleman. Mr. Coleman has served two terms as trustee of Howard township, having been twice elected on the Republican ticket in a strong Democratic township, evidence of his popularity. He and ]\Irs. Coleman are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is president of the Consolidated School Board of the Hume Consolidated District and was one of the leaders in the advanced movement which succeeded in estal)lishing a centralized school system at Hume, and provided for the transportation of the school pupils within a radius of several miles to a graded school in the town. The effects of this splendid and progressive enterprise are already noticeable in the more rapid advance" in the education and training of the children of school age. A new and modern school building will be erected in Hume very soon and the entire community will reap the benefits in the years to come, as a result of this onward movement in the cause of education.

James Pendleton Thomas, better known probably as J. P. Thomas, one of the oldest of the pioneer settlers of Bates county, now living in peaceful retirement among his children in New Home township, has a record for achievement of which any man of his age may well be proud. Mr. Thomas has reared one of the best families in Bates county and accumulated during his life time a fortune in lands and money, starting from the foot of the ladder without hardly a dollar to his name when he began his career. Probably the best thing which can be said of this patriarch is the fact that he did not require his children to wait until his death in order to share in his accumulations, but he wisely chose to give each child a tract of land upon which to begin his own career. That he did wisely is evident as every son and daughter has a good home, is well provided for, and nearly all of them live in the vicinity of the old home where the aged father can see them frequently and have the comfort of their companionship during his declining years. If every father would do as he has done with his children there would be fewer sons to leave the home community and seek in other lands for the fabled "pot of honey" which is always said to be a few hundred miles away.