Bates County, Missouri - Biographical sketches, 1918 (part 4 of 19)

The Farmers Bank of Foster, Missouri, was organized in 1877 and is one of the oldest established financial institutions in the county. This bank was organized by William E. Walton, president emeritus of the Walton Trust Company of Butler, Missouri; W'. M. Campbell, the first president ; J. Everingham, now deceased ; Dr. T. C. Boulware ; J. P. Edwards; and L. W. Jones, now deceased. F. M. Allen served as assistant cashier under William E. Walton for the first year. Judge John H. Sullens was the next cashier, followed by W. A. Ephland, who was succeeded by W. S. James, who served until J. G. Doolittle took charge in 1911. Prior to becoming cashier of the bank, Mr. Doolittle served as president, succeeding W. M. Campbell in 1909.

The capital stock of the Farmers Bank is fifteen thousand dollars; surplus fund is six thousand dollars; with total resources of one hundred twenty thousand dollars at this writing, December, 1917. The present officers are as follow: H. A. Rhoades, president; J. G. Doolittle, cashier; and H. A. Rhoades, J. G. Doolittle, H. G. Davis, E. E. Laughlin. Bertha E. Doolittle, directors.

E. A. Porter. - The one hundred sixty acres of land owned by E. A. Porter and located one mite west of Adrian, in Deer Creek township, is one of the best improved and finest agricultural plants in this section of Bates county or in Missouri. Everything about the place denotes thrift and good farm management on the part of the proprietor. When Mr. Porter purchased this place, in 1907, it was practically devoid of improvements. During his tenure, he has erected a thoroughly modern eight-room residence of handsome appearance. He has built a large, white barn 50 x 60 feet in size; a hog and cattle barn, 36 x 40 feet in dimensions ; a concrete-floored feeding shed for hogs ; and a silo, having a capacity of one hundred tons. Mr. Porter feeds generally about one hundred head of Poland China hogs and keeps a herd of Red Polled and Durham milch cows. Altogether he has spent in excess of eight thousand dollars upon farm improvements and the unanimous judgment

E. A. Porter was born in September, 1869, on a farm in Bates county, a son of R. I. and Catherine (Pulliam) Porter, the former, born in Jefferson county, Missouri, in 1838, and the latter, born in Cass county in Februai-y, 1849. The father of R. I. Porter was a Alissouri pioneer who came to this state from Illinois. Catherine (Pulliam) Porter was a daughter of Augustus Pulliam, who came to Missouri from Kentucky in the early fifties. R. I. Porter was reared to young manhood in Jefferson county and during the early sixties he journeyed to Montana, where he followed mining in the Western mountains for a period of live years or thereabout. In 1866, he located in Bates county and settled on a farm eight miles northeast of Adrian in Grand River township, where there were both timber and water in abundance. He developed this tract into one of the finest farms in Bates county and recently sold it for a good price. Mr. and Mrs. R. I. Porter now reside in Nevada, Missouri. They have three children: Edward A., subject of this review; Dr. E. M., of Great Falls, Montana, one of the most famous surgeons of the Western country; and Miss Eva, who lives with her parents at Nevada.

Edward A. Porter was educated in the district school near his father's home and afterward attended Butler Academy, following which he studied at the ^^'arrensburg Normal College. He cultivated the home place until he was tw^enty-one years old and, after his marriage, he settled on a farm one mile southwest of Altona. He first purchased eighty acres of land which he improved and to which he successively added two "eighties." He ultimately owned two hundred forty acres of land, wdiich is rated among the best farms in the county. Mr. Porter sold this farm at a considerable profit in 1907 and invested the proceeds in his present home farm.

Mr. Porter was married in February, 1890, to Miss Mary Cantrell, who was born in Bates county, Missouri, a daughter of Stephen and Lillian (McClure) Cantrell, natives of Georgia, who came to Bates county in 1868 and resided here until death claimed them. Three children have been born to Edward A. and Mary Porter, as follow: Cora, wife of Virgil S. Proctor, living in Montana ; Lola, wife of Frank Mathers, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Adrian; and Alma, at home with her parents.

and he lias al\\a\s ])ocn more or less interested in the alTairs of his partN'. h'or a period of ten }ears he tilled the olViee of assessor of Grand River township. He and Mrs. Porter are niend)ers of the Methodist ['Episcopal chureh. Mr. Porter is fraternally alViliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Independent Order of Odd h'ellows, and the l*-ncam[)ment.

William H. Patchin. - Durinj;- the forty years in which William H. Patchin, snhstantial farmer and stockman of West l')Ot)ne townshi[). has resided in Pates count}-, he has won a place for himself as a successful farmer and business man excelled by no citizen of the county, who has sta\ed close to the mother earth in the elTort to secure a lixelihood and competence. h'rom a modest hes^innino- in his youns;" manhocKl. durins;- the strenuous days of the i;reat rush for free homesteads in Oklahoma in 18<S'), in which he was a successful participant, he has successfulh' built uj) his holdiui^s until he is owner of li\e lumdred sixty acres of splendid farm land in West P)Oone townshii). Three hundred twent^' acres of rich prairie land comprise the home farm upt)n which Mr. Patchin erected a modern eis;ht-room farm residence in P)10. The residence is lighted and heated with natural gas flowing from a well, drilled in 1911 to a depth of one hundred ninety-eight feet on the place. Mr. Patchin is an extensive stockman and large feeder of cattle of which he feeds from one t(^ two carloads annuallw lie also feeds from one to two carloads of hogs each year. Mr. Patchin has all the grain grcnvn on the farm fed to his livestock and the grain ration is supplemented \n' a balanced ration of cottonseed meal autl oil meals, lie has made a thorough stud\- of lixestock production and attributes his success as a stockman to careful and obserxant feeding. W. 11. Patchin was born April 20. 1865. in Hancock county, Illinois, a son of lliram and Susan ( Power) Patchin, natives of New York and \'irginia, respectively.

lliram Patchin was born in 1816 and died in 1881. His birth and earh' upbringing were in New York state, wdience he migrated to Illinois in 1841. He was a son of Abijah Patchin. of an old American family. Pliram Patchin was married in Illinois to Susan Powell, who was born in N'irgiuia in 1828, runl died in P)ates county in 1893. He l)uilt up a good farm of one hundred sixty acres in Hancock county, Illinois, and resided there until 1877. when he came to Rates county and ])urchased a farm in West Boone township just to the west of the present home of his son. ^\'illiam 11. He reared a family of four chil-

William H. Patchin was eleven years of age when he came with his parents to Bates county. His schooling was practically completed before coming here, due to the fact that schools were very few and poor in Bates county in that early period of its history. With a determination to secure a farm for himself, he joined the rush of homesteaders in 1889, when the territory of Oklahoma was tin-own open for settlement, and secured a line (juarter section of land. He developed and improved his homestead and resided there until 1894. He then sold out and returned to his old home county, purchasing one hundred acres of farm land adjoining the towm of Merwin. He increased his holdino-s to two hundred acres, wdiich he sold in 1909, and moved to his present location, where he made an initial purchase of eighty acres; He has simply added one tract after another to this small nucleus until he has one of the large stock farms of the county.

Mr. Patchin resided in lUitler from September 1, 1913, to March 27, 1914, in order to give his children the advantage of a high school education. Whije a citiz-en of Butler, he became widely acquainted in the city and made many warm friends, l)ecoming associated with the Walton Trust Company and the Denton-Coleman Trust Company, as a stockholder.

Mr. Patchin was married February 5, 1890, to Miss Bessie Winn, who was born in Johnson county, Missouri, August 13, 1870, a daughter of A. C. and Louisa Frances Winn, natives of Orange county. New York, and Greene county, Illinois, respectively. Her parents removed from Indiana to Johnson county, Missouri, in 1865, and came to Bates county from Johnson in the fall of 1872, settling in West Boone township. Mrs. Winn is deceased and Mr. Winn resides with his daughter, Mrs. Lucinda May Baker, in West Point township. He is eightyone years of age. To William H. and Bessie Patchin have been born children, as follow: Elmer, born May 12, 1894, a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering School of Kansas City, studied four years in the Butler High School and now in the employ of the Federal Government at the Philadelphia Navy Yard; Lawrence, born December 16. 1897, a graduate of the Butler High School and now a student in the Kansas City Business College; and Carl Henry, born March 27, 1913.

is essentially a home man, one who finds his time taken up with his extensive agricultural affairs and his family. He and Mrs. Patchin are held in high esteem by their many friends in Bates county, and are numbered among the county's leaders.

William C. Foster, one of the leading livestock producers of Bates county, proprietor of "Fair Acres," a splendid country estate situated in the southern part of Walnut township, near Hume, Missouri, has achieved a success in the agricultural and livestock fields which is remarkable, in view of the fact that his beginning in Bates county forty years ago and more was a modest one, and made without capital. Mr. Foster has accumulated a very large acreage during these years, his home estate comprising 378 acres of rich prairie land, in addition to another farm of 105 acres in Walnut township, and a recent purchase of a tract of 154 acres in Howard township. His first investment in land was in an eighty-acre tract bought in 1879 at a cost of six dollars an acre. He later paid sixty dollars an acre for one hundred five acres. Mr. Foster has a large, comfortable farm residence, and two large barns on his place. He is an extensive feeder of cattle and has at the present writing (January, 1918) one hundred thirty head of cattle. He feeds and sells from one hundred to one hundred fifty head of cattle annually ; and about one hundred head of hogs.

W. C. Foster was born July 25, 1846, in England, and was a son of George and Martha Foster, wdio emigrated from their native land in 1851 and made a permanent settlement in Illinois, where both lived the remainder of their days and died. W. C. Foster remained in Illinois until 1872, and then came westward to Pettis county, Missouri. He rented land in Pettis county for five years, after which, in 1877 he came to Bates county. After tilling rented ground until 1879 he bought his first eighty-acre farm on time payments. His subsequent successful career is an epitome of industry, untiring energy, and excellent financial management on his part. If Mr. Foster were asked to tell how he had managed to build up his large estate and explain how he had become one of the wealthy men of Bates county, his answer would undoubtedly be, "Hard work, good management, and always stay on the job."

Mr. Foster was married March 27, 1870, to Amanda Smith, born August 14, 1840. in Columbiana county, Ohio, a daughter of Michael and Rebecca Smith. Mrs. Foster's parents died in Ohio and she came to Illinois in 1868. The following children have been born to William C. and Amanda Foster; William C, a farmer and stockman living in

Howard township; Mrs. Mattie, wife of U. G. Goodenough, living- on the Foster home place, has six children: Marie, William, Charles, Alvin, Ada, and Esther; Mollie, wife of J. E. Lee, a farmer of Walnut township; Stella, wife of Edward Graves, Walnut township.

Mr. Foster is a pronounced Democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is affiliated fraternally with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Hume, Missouri. In addition to his farming interests, Mr. Foster is president of the Commercial Bank of Hume, a thriving and well patronized financial institution. He is one of the most popular and most highly respected citizens of his locality, whose honesty and integrity of purpose are proverbial and whose word in a business transaction is considered inviolable.

Niels Peterson, of West Point township, is one of the most successful farmers of his day and generation. Beginning in this countv as a poor man in 1900, he made his first investment in a farm, buying on time. His first year was a bad one, 1901, being a dry year during which he raised practically no crops whatever. The year before he made his purchase he paid five hundred dollars cash rent for a place but did not earn his rent. He decided wisely that it was much cheaper to pay interest than to pay rent for land, especially when it seemed so difficult to raise anything at all. Things began soon to go his way, and he has prospered from year to year. Mr. Peterson is now owner of one hundred thirty-five and a half acres of excellent land, a farm which is kept in a high state of cultivation by methods which only citizens from that far-away land of Denmark, where he was born, instinctively know how to apply.

Niels Peterson was born in the little kingdom of Denmark, September 14, 1850, a son of Peter Larson and Helen Ludwig, both natives of Denmark, who lived all their days in the land of their birth. On March 14, 1873, Mr. Peterson left the land of his birth to seek his fortune in America, arriving in New York City, April 9, 1873, a poor, immigrant lad, who found it necessary to at once obtain employment or starve. In this country, however, there is always work for the willing and able, and he soon obtained employment as a laborer in the great city and he remained there for seven years.

Coming of a hardy race to whom economy is both a necessity and a virtue, he saved money sufficient to invest in a farm in Cloud county, Kansas, but suffered the misfortune of being defrauded out of his title by the shrewd and unscrupulous individual with whom he made the trade. He remained in Kansas for six years, saved another stake, and then located in Ottawa county, Kansas, where he remained for twelve years without appreciably increasing his fortunes. All the while, however, his wonderful cheerfulness and optimism upheld him and he eventually got together enough funds to make another start. He came to Bates county in the fall of 1900 and after one season's experience in paying cash rent for his land he again bought a farm. During the past year of 1917, Mr. Peterson had planted twenty-five acres of corn which yielded the splendid crop of fifty bushels to the acre. Some of the acreage yielded as high as sixty bushels to the acre. From six acres of corn planted for silage he filled his sixty-ton silo and provided feed for his fine herd of Hereford cattle. Where others have failed with the use of a silo, Mr. Peterson has solved the problem of perfect silage during the winter months. He planted his corn, intended for silage, on June 20, 1917, and harvested the crop when the stalks were still full of moisture, thus avoiding the necessity of using artificial methods of giving moisture to the silage by watering, practiced with indifferent success by others. The silage is allowed to settle of its own weight and when taken from the silo for feeding purposes it is still sweet and savory, full of natural juices and makes ideal provender for livestock.

]\Ir. Peterson is certain that he has discovered the proper way to put up silage and, besides being the first man in his neighborhood to erect a silo, he is the first in his section to properly fill the silo. There is absolutely no waste with his methods of feeding, as the livestock eat every shred and scrap of the forage. He has a fine herd of thoroughbred Herefords, including eleven cows and as many calves, all in firstclass condition. In 1908, ^Ir. Peterson erected a large barn, painted red, with concrete floors, thirty-four feet wide, twenty-nine feet high, with a tw^elve-foot shed on each side, one of the best barns in the neighborhood.

Mr. Peterson was married in Rochester, New York state, September 14, 1880, to Miss Jane Watson, who was born in 1863, in Penfield near the city of Rochester, New York, Monroe county, a daughter of Edward Marshall and Catherine (Eagan) Watson, the former a native of Cambridgeshire, England, and the latter of Brooklyn, New York. A\'hen seventeen years of age, Mrs. Peterson left home and came West with her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have no living children. Air. Peterson is a Republican. He is a member of the Catholic church.

Boone township, a native of Illinois, is one of the recent additions to the progressive citizenship of Bates county, a man wdio is doing his full share in bringing the agricultural interests of this county to the front. Progressive, enterprising and aggressive in his methods, he has achieved a remarkable success in his vocation during the fifteen ye^irs of his residence in this county. Mr. Houtz was born in Woodford county, Illinois, October 26, 1873, a son of John C. and Sarah J. (Garst) Houtz, natives of Virginia. During the Civil War, John C. Houtz served in the Home Guards of his native State. George and James P. Houtz, his brothers, served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. In 1865, John C. Houtz located in Woodford county, Illinois, where he built up a splendid farm of two hundred sixty acres of very rich and valuable land. He died in Illinois, in February, 1895, aged sixty-six }'ears. The mother of John J. Houtz departed this life in 1889, aged fifty-three years. There were ten children in the Houtz family, six of wdiom are living; John J., subject of this review; Henry A., Edward L., Frank I., and Mrs. Lulu B. Harris, reside in Boone county, Nebraska; Mrs. Etha L. McMullen, who lives in Salt Lake City. John J. Houtz was reared in Woodford county, Illinois. He began farming on his own account when twenty-one years old. He purchased eighty acres of rich Illinois land and owned the farm until 1902, at which time he sold out and came to Bates county where he first invested in a quarter section of land. Some time later, he added another quarter to this tract and farmed a half section of land. Fire destroyed the buildings on this place and he erected what were considered the finest improvements on the countryside. In fact, Mr. Houtz has found it a profitable business to take hold of a rundown farm, place better improvements upon it, bring l)ack the soil to a l)etter state of cultivation, and then dispose of the farm at a profit. He has handled, during the course of his residence in this county, over two thousand acres of land. He is at present owner of seven hundred twenty acres of land in the vicinity of Merwin and has one of the best improved farms in the northwest part of Bates county. Lipon his large acreage there are four sets of farm improvements and his home place near Merwin comprises a half section, upon which he erected a handsome residence and barns in 1916. He maintains a herd of one hundred pure-bred, registered Hereford cattle on his farms and is a breeder of Poland China hogs. Mr. Houtz specializes in the breeding of Percheron horses and mules, owning a fine blooded Percheron stallion, registered as "Brown Richard," and he keeps two jacks in his barns. He is thoroughly versed in the science of Hvestock raising and is ever ready to give his neighbors assistance and advice in the proper care of their stock.

Mr. Houtz was married November 28, 1895, to Miss Sarah Jeter, who was born in Woodford county, Ilhnois, daughter of James H. and Mary (Peterson) Jeter, natives of Virginia and New Jersey, respectively. James H. Jeter settled in Illinois wnth his parents and resided there until his death, which occurred in June, 1916, at the age of seventyfive years. Mr. Jeter died at Raymore, Missouri, the family having removed to this state in 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Houtz have four children: Pauline, a graduate of the Raymore High School, taught school for three years and was a student of the Warrensburg Normal College; Pearl, a high school graduate and student of the Warrensburg Normal; Edith, attending the Merwin High School; and Gale.

After four years' residence in Merwin, the Houtz family took up their residence on the present home place in October, 1916. The Houtz farm is one of the best equipped in this part of Bates county and the land is underlaid with natural gas. Mr. Houtz is independent in his political views. He is a member of the Christian church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Court of Honor.

David Clayton Wolfe, a late prominent citizen of Charlotte township, an early settler of this county, was one of the most advanced and progressive farmers in this section of Missouri. Self-educated, a great reader, a religious worker, gifted mentally beyond the attainments of ordinary men, he was a visionary to the extent that he frequently advocated measures for the lasting benefit of the people, which measures were in advance of the thought of his time. To Mr. Wolfe belonged the credit of originating the system of road dragging which is now in use along the main highways of this county. He was the first man to drag the roads in the vicinity of his farm in Bates county and he started the campaign for road dragging and a better system of roads in Bates county, when the greater part of the citizenship was opposed to such a procedure. He was a stanch advocate of prohibition and had he lived to the present day would have been gratified at the steps and measures that have been taken to insure national prohibition in the United States. David Clayton W^olfe was born September 23, 1864, and died February 10, 1917. His place of birth was in Dallas county, Iowa, and he was a son of Charles W. and Mary Josephine (Young) W^olfe, natives of Ohio.

Charles W. Wolfe, his father, was born in Athens county, Ohio, in 1842, a son of Jacob and Sarah (Brunson) Wolfe, the former a native of Athens county and the latter, a native of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, but reared in Ohio.

C. W. Wolfe was reared and educated in the county of his birth, and in 1861 he enlisted in the Twenty-second Ohio Infantry, and served for five months. He then went to Dallas county, Iowa, and farmed and taught school until September, 1864, when he enlisted in Company "K," Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He saw active service in Georgia, Mississippi, and was with Sherman on his famous march to the sea. Mr. Wolfe was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 24, 1865, and discharged at Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1865. He then returned home. Mr. Wolfe was married July 10, 1862, to Mary Josephine Young, who was born in Athens county in 1844, daughter of John and Mary (Higgins) Young. In 1870, Mr. Wolfe came to Bates county and located in Homer township, wdiere he resided for two years and then purchased a tract of two hundred forty acres in Charlotte township, which he improved. There were five children born to Charles W. and Mary Wolfe: James Irvin, David C, Julia E., Jacob V. and Bertha. Mr. Wolfe resides in Butler.

David Clayton Wolfe was reared to young manhood at the Wolfe homestead, located two and a half miles southwest of Virginia in Charlotte township. He lived practically all his days in this locality, excepting a short time spent in Colorado. He was married February 22, 1888, to Miss Telia May Park, and eight children were born of this marriage: W. J., living at Blue Mound, Kansas; Warren D., in real estate investment and loan business, Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Bonnie Darnes, who formerly taught school in this county, and now lives at Attica, Kansas; Mrs. Bessie Hardinger, Charlotte township; Joe Clayton, Burdee Marie, George and Charles, twins, at home. (Three grandchildren have been born: Willard Wolfe Hardinger, deceased; George Robert Darnes, and Telia Virginia Darnes.) The mother of the children was born October 25, 1866, in Crawford county, Ohio, a daughter of George Washington and Susan (Quaintance) Park, natives of Ohio, who came to Missouri in 1876 and settled on a farm in Charlotte township. Bates county. G. AV. Park resided here until his death in 1906, becoming an honored and highly respected citizen of the county, having been the pioneer advocate of prohibition in Bates county. Mrs. Park is still living at the age of eighty-six years.

At the time of his marriage, David Clayton Wolfe purchased eighty acres of land one-half mile east of Virginia. The first home was a small two-room house of one and a half stories, and he also erected a barn. The first small house served as his home for some time and he later erected the present beautiful home of the family, which is one of the most attractive and best-kept places in Bates county. A beautiful grove of shade trees fronts the highway, all of which were planted by Mr. Wolfe. He increased his acreage gradually until, at the time of his death, he and Mrs. Wolfe owned a total of three hundred wellimproved acres. Politically, Mr. Wolfe was allied with the Democratic party. He belonged to the Christian church, of which he served as elder for a number of years. He was a candidate for state representative on the Democratic ticket in 1912 and made the race for the office upon a pronounced advanced platform which he enunciated with clearness and decisiveness during the campaign. His platform as published in the newspapers at that time called for the enactment of: *'A law limiting the owners of land to possession of 640 acres in each county; a law changing the time of tax assessments from June to March of each year; a system that will solve the question of roads."

He was the pioneer in the good roads movement in Bates county, although his first efforts to have the county authorities undertake the grading of highways met with bitter and determined opposition. The first graded and dragged roads in the county were those which bordered upon his land. He dragged these roads with a "King Road Dragger" for years without pay, and lived to see the authorities make a fair start upon a system of better roads throughout the county. He was a Good Templar and was a strong advocate of national prohibition. He was also a firm adherent to the cause of "woman suffrage" and, had he lived to the present, his hopes regarding national prohibition and woman's suffrage would have been gratified. Mr. Wolfe was a constant reader who kept abreast and even ahead of his own time. He was a deep thinker and, endowed with literary ability, he was enabled to express his thoughts in poetic vein on many occasions. He was a "man worth while" in the community and his loss to the county was deeply mourned by his many friends and acquaintances. His influence among his fellow-citizens was always for good, he was never known to sanction evil in any form, a Christian in name, he endeavored to live a Christian life, and he bequeathed a respected and honored name to his children who will always revere his memory because of his upright-

Edgar D. Waller, successful farmer, livestock and grain dealer, New Home township, Bates county, Missouri, while his grain and livestock business office is maintained at Foster, is one of the "live wires" in the livestock and business world of Bates county. Since he began for himself upon a rented farm seventeen years ago, he has accumulated three farms totaling eight hundred acres located in New Home township. Since 1902, he has been engaged in the grain and livestock business with headquarters at Foster. Mr. Waller was born on a farm in Walnut township, Bates county, in 1879, a son of George and Eveline (DeMott) Waller, natives of Illinois, where they were reared and married. George Waller removed to Bates county, Missouri, in 1870 and made his home here until his removal to Madison, Kansas, in 1901. Mrs. Eveline Waller died in 1883. George and Eveline Waller were parents of three children: Harvey, deceased; Edgar D., subject of this review, and Walter, Kansas City, Missouri, -

E. D. Waller was educated in the Foster public schools and began farming on his own account in New Home township. His first purchase of land was for a quarter section in 1900 at a cost of twenty dollars per acre, which was bought on time. The place was but poorly improved with an old shack, but Mr. Waller soon replaced this with a good dwelling and other buildings. He lived on this place for two years, then sold it and went to Madison, Kansas, where he purchased a farm and remained but one year. Selling out, he returned to Missouri, where he rented the farm owned by I. H. Botkin, his father-in-law. He prospered in this venture, and, in 1906, bought a farm consisting of one hundred twenty acres, adjoining the Botkin place; added fifty acres in 1907; bought eighty acres more in 1915; and, in 1917, he purchased a large tract of five hundred sixty acres, making a total of eight hundred ten acres which he now owns and manages. Mr. Waller feeds over one hundred head of cattle annually for the markets and employs from three to twelve men in the conduct of his farming operations. During 1917, he harvested three hundred acres of corn which yielded forty bushels to the acre ; one hundred fifty acres of wheat which averaged seventeen bushels to the acre, and eighty acres of oats, which gave a yield of forty-five bushels to the acre. For the wheat harvest this year (1918) he has sown three hundred acres.

ter, concerning whose career an extensive biography is given in this volume. From October, 1916, to February, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Waller made their residence in Rich Hill, Missouri. Mr. Waller is a Democrat in politics, but his whole time and energy are devoted to his extensive farming and business interests. His success is, without doubt, the most striking of that accomplished by members of the younger generation in Bates county.

Warren Littlefield. - The late Warren Littlefield, of New Home township, Union veteran, and successful farmer, was favorably known in Bates county. He was an industrious and enterprising citizen who was held in high esteem by all who knew him in this county, and his influence was ever felt on the side of good deeds and worthy movements. He was born August 11, 1834, and died January 25, 1906. Mr. Littlefield was a native of Pennsylvania, and a son of George and Mary (Miller) Littlefield, natives of Pennsylvania, who removed to Brown county, Illinois, in 1840. In this county, under pioneer conditions, Warren Littlefield was reared to young manhood, and upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted on September 17, 1861, in Company C, Third Missouri Cavalry Regiment, and saw over three years of hard service in the southwest. He fought in many battles and skirmishes and was honorably discharged from the service November 26, 1864. He was married in 1866 and he and his young wife made their start in life on eighty acres of land which had been given to them by Mrs. Littlefield's father. This tract they sold and in 1881 purchased one hundred twenty acres of land in New Home township, Bates county, Missouri, upon which Mr. Littlefield erected substantial improvements. To this farm they later added forty acres more from the old Sam McCowan place. The Littlefield farm is one of the best in Bates county and from year to year has yielded its owners excellent crops. Under Mr. Littlefield's wise management the farm prospered and he accumulated sufiicient of this world's goods in the form of money and property to maintain him and his devoted wife in comfort the remainder of their days. His death in 1906 was a sad loss to his family and the community in which he had long been held in high respect.

On July 4, 1866, in Illinois, the marriage of Warren Littlefield and Margaret Ellen Tyson was solemnized. This marriage was blessed with the following children: Mrs. Augusta Vanatta, living in Iowa; Mrs. Eva Gray, residing near Lorimer, Iowa; Mrs. Ella Barnard, Montana; Minnie, wife of George Kelly, New Home township; Frank, at home with his mother and managing the home place; Harry, owner of the old Shannon farm in New Home township ; Bertha died at the age of twenty-four years; Alice died in infancy, Mrs. Margaret Ellen Littlefield, nee Tyson, was born in Schuyler county, Illinois, March 5, 1847, a daughter of George Tyson, one of the pioneers of Schuyler county, Illinois. George Tyson was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1807, a son of Zephaniah Tyson, who was born in Virginia in 1771, who enlisted in the Indian Wars in 1790 and fought under General Wayne. He also fought in the War of 1812 under General Harrison. He married Margaret De Long, and in 1830 he moved to Illinois, dying there in 1849 at the age of seventy-eight years. George Tyson went to Cincinnati, Ohio, when a young man and worked on a flat boat, engaged in trading on the Ohio river for some time. He married Lucinda Bellamy of Culpepper county, Virginia, then sold his flat boat and went overland to Schuyler county, Illinois, wdiere he accumulated 480 acres of land and became wealthy. He owned a saw-mill and a grist-mill which he operated with profit. In 1866 he went west and disappeared, his death probably coming at the hands of savage Indians. He also owned a half section of land in Henry county, Missouri. Mrs. Tyson died September 10, 1876. They were parents of the following sons and daughters: Robert, deceased; Alfred, deceased, served in Second Illinois Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War; William, deceased, served in the One Hundred Fifteenth Illinois Infantry Regiment ; Levi lives near Abilene, Kansas ; Mrs. Caroline Kirkham, Mt. Sterling, Illinois; Mrs. Melissa Johnson, deceased; Mrs. Angeline Dimmick, deceased, whose husband was a Union veteran. Mrs. Warren Littlefield makes her home on the old family farmstead and is an intelligent, right-thinking woman who holds dear the memory of her late husband and keeps abreast of the times, being proud of the fact she and Mr. Littlefield are numbered among the early settlers of Bates county.

Mr. Littlefield was a stanch Republican, who, while he never sought political preferment, often attended political gatherings and delighted in hearing the issues of the day discussed and in discussing them among his friends and associates. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church which is also the church attended by Mrs. Littlefield. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, a very religious individual, a sterling, upright, moral citizen who loved his home life, and was good and kind to the members of his family. Mr. and Mrs. Littlefield are deserving of a place of honor in the annals of the county which they have assisted so ably in creating.

Joseph T. Smithy ex-sheriff of Bates county, member of one of the honored pioneer famihes of Missouri, proprietor of one of the best improved farmsteads in western Missouri, located in Walnut township, near Foster, was born in Clay county, Missouri, July 23, 1854. His parents were William S. and Mary M. (Birkhead) Smith, natives of Kentucky.

William S. Smith immigrated to Missouri in the early forties with his parents when he was but a youth, and became one of the famous "forty-niners," making the long overland trip to the newly discovered California gold fields in 1849. He crossed the plains via the ox-team route in company with other adventurous spirits and remained for two years in the gold country, returning home by the sea route with a small fortune in gold. After his return in 1851, he was married in Lincoln county, Missouri, to Mary N. Birkhead and then moved to a farm in Clay county. In 1855 he came to Bates county, and first settled near Papinsville, then the county seat. When the decision was made to locate the county capital at Butler in 1856, he went there and erected the first store building. He later traded his stock of goods and store building for a tract of land located one mile west of Butler, engaged in farming, and died in 1862. He left a widow and the following children to mourn their loss: Margaret, deceased; Mrs. Sarah Ann Spicer, Clay county, Missouri; Alice Ruth, deceased; Joseph T., subject of this sketch; Reuben B., James N., William W., deceased, and two children died in infancy.

Joseph T. Smith was reared in Butler and upon the family farm west of the city and the family resided there until Order No. 11 was issued in 1863, after which they went to Lincoln county, Missouri, and resided with Mrs. Smith's people until 1868. They then returned to the farm in Bates county and set about rebuilding and repairing the damage which had been done during the war. Mr. Smith lived upon the home place for ten years, assisting his mother in supporting the family. In 1878, he moved to Butler and for thirteen years was engaged in the livery business. In 1880, he went to Colorado, and remained in the western mountain country from the spring of that year until 1883, when he returned to Butler and again entered the livery business. In 1885, he made a visiting trip to Nebraska points and remained in that state until 1888, when he returned home. He received the appointment of deputy sheriff of the county soon after his return and served for four years. He then engaged in the livestock business, entered politics and was elected sheriff of Bates county in 1899, taking up the duties of his ofBce on January 1, 1900. He served two terms of two years eacli as sheriff, and the concensus of opinion is that Mr. Smith made the best sheriff Bates county had had up to that time. During his term of office, the hanging of James B. Gartrell for the murder of D. B. Donnekin in the western part of Bates county, took place. Following his term in office, Mr. Smith bought a farm one mile east of Butler upon which he and his family resided until 1909. He then disposed of his farm and lived in the city of Butler until purchasing his present home farm in Walnut township in March, 1912.

The Smith farm is beautifully located in a fertile valley just southwest of the town of Foster and is considered the best improved tract in Walnut township. The farm consists of two hundred acres of rich bottom land and is devoted to the raising of cattle, hogs and horses. Mr. Smith prefers the Shorthorn breed of cattle.

On November 8, 1882, Joseph T. Smith and Nora May Porter were united in marriage. Mrs. Nora May Smith was born at Ottawa, Illinois, in 1867, and is a daughter of Samuel B. and Mary E. (Burwell) Porter, natives of Ohio, who first located in Illinois, then went to Minnesota, from there to Iowa, thence to Colorado, resided in Nebraska and Iowa and from there went to Montana, finally making their home with Mr. and Mrs. Smith when old age came upon them. Her father died in Butler in 1911, her mother following him in death two years later in 1913. The parents of Mrs. Smith were descended from Pennsylvania ancestry, her mother, Mary E. (Burwell) Porter, a daughter of Samuel and Celia (McKinley) Burwell, the latter a sister of President William McKinley's father.

The Democratic party has always had the firm allegiance and support of Mr. Smith and he and Mrs. Smith are members of the Christian church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is one of the most popular and best-known . pioneer citizens of Bates county and enjoys a wide and favorable acquaintance in the county.

Frank Ray Swarens, grain dealer and sucessful farmer of New Home township, whose place of business is at Foster, Missouri, was born June 10, 1865, in Menard county, Illinois. His father was John Swarens, born in 1837. and died in 1899, a native of Woodford county, Illinois, and of German ancestry. He, John Swarens, was left an orphan at the early age of eleven years and was reared in the home of a married sister. When he reached mature age, he married Miss Anna Ray, who was born in 1843 in Sangamon county, Illinois, a daughter of Samuel Ray, who moved from his home state of Kentucky to Illinois, in an early day. She died in 1908. In 1867, John Swarens moved from Menard county to Sangamon county, Illinois, and resided there until he came to Bates county, the entire family arriving in this county on March 1, 1882, making a permanent settlement in New Home township. John Swarens prospered exceedingly in his new environment and became one of the leading and most substantial citizens of Bates county. Prior to his death he was owner of five hundred thirty acres of rich farm land.

John and Anna Swarens were parents of the following children: Ella, wife of N. L. Livingston, died at Foster, Missouri; Frank Ray, subject of this biographical review; C. C, a leading farmer of New Home township; Mrs. Laura Bowman, Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Hattie Barron, Kansas City; Mrs. May McCombs, deceased; Mrs. Joe Stetter, Kansas City; Iva and Emma, deceased. Mr. Swarens was a pronounced Democrat in his political affiliations. He and Mrs. Swarens were members of the Christian church and Mr. Swarens was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. and Mrs. Swarens were a valuable addition to the civic and agricultural life of Bates county and left a reputation for honest, upright, industrious living, for a high plane of right thinking and doing, which will make them long remembered in this locality. Their virtues and habits of life were visited upon their children, who occupy respected niches in the various communities in which they each reside.

The early education of F. R. Swarens was obtained in the schools of his native county in Illinois, and, at the time of his coming to Bates county with his parents, he was a sturdy boy of seventeen years, who was able and willingr to do a man's work in the fields. He assisted his father in developing and cultivating the home place and, after his father's death, elected to remain there, subsequently purchasing the various interests of the other heirs in the family homestead. In 1913, he moved to Foster, where he had become interested in the grain business. In 1918, this year, he deemed it the best policy, in view of the scarcity of farm help, to remove to the farm in New Home township where he could personally oversee the cultivation of his land. His home place in New Home township is a splendidly improved farm of two hundred forty acres. For the past five years, Mr. Swarens has been residing on the Mort Campbell place of one hundred twenty acres adjoining Foster on the east, and which he sold in December, 1917,

On September 4, 1889, Frank Ray Swarens and Vida, eldest daughter of James P. Thomas, of New Home township, were united in marriage. The reader is referred to the biography of James P. Thomas, the oldest pioneer resident of this township, for further information regarding the Thomas family. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Swarens, nine of whom are living: Nona, wife of Charles Cobb, living on the home place in New Home township; Mrs. Mamie Sieg, living on an eighty acre farm in Howard towmship; James and Raymond, at home on the farm; Mrs. Oneta, wife of E. C. Cullison, Archie, Cass county, Missouri, where Mr. Cullison is employed as book-keeper for the Hurley Lumber Company; Leslie, book-keeper for Swift & Co., Trenton, Missouri; Leonard and Ruth, at home; Viola, deceased; Forrest, at home; and Martha, deceased.

Mr. Swarens has always been allied with the Democratic party and has held various township offices in New Home township, during the course of his residence there. He is a member of the Christian church and is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Swarens are highly esteemed citizens of Bates county, and are of that sturdy, progressive class who have done so much to bring Bates county to the front.

John J. March, ex-judge of the county court of Bates county, a pioneer citizen of New Home township, leading farmer and stockman, is a scion of one of the oldest pioneer families of Missouri and a descendant of colonial ancestry, of Swiss origin. His great-great-grandfather was Rudolph March, who immigrated to America from his native land, Switzerland, and settled in North Carolina about the middle of the eighteenth century, or 1750. His son, Jacob March, great-grandfather of Judge John J. March, saw service in the American Revolution during the campaigns which restored the Carolinas to the American Colonial Government and drove the British from their strongholds in the Southern states. John J. March was born, January 1, 1861, in Boone county, Missouri, a son of Willis March (born 1820, died 1895) and Sarah (Dejarnette) March (born 1839, died 1907).

Willis B. March was born in Clark county, Kentucky, a son of John March, a native of Kentucky, who was a son of Jacob March, born in North Carolina, who was a son of Rudolph March, a native of Switzer- land, mentioned in the preceding- paragraph as having emigrated from Switzerland to America in abont 1750. John March left Kentncky and made a settlement in Boone connty, ]Missonri, as early as 1844. His son, Willis B., was there reared to yonng manhood and served as a soldier in the Mexican War. 184o to 1848. In 1849 he made the overland trip to the gold fields of California, remaining fonr years and made a fortnne. He again went to California in 1853. remaining three years. He married Sarah Dejarnette. who bore him children, as follow: John J., snbject of this review; Mrs. Emma L. Hart, a widow living at Bnssev. Iowa ; Joseph B.. a farmer living in Osage township, connty surveyor of Bates county for two terms, later graduated from the Law- School of the Missouri University, who soon after our government began the construction of the Panama Canal, offered his services and was accepted, remaining there for more than seven years, the latter half of this time being a district judge, having been appointed by the noted Joe Blackburn, of Kentucky, then Governor of the Canal Zone : Mrs. Carrie Yeates. Lamar. Colorado: ]\Irs. Mattie E. Ford A\'elch. \'ernon countv. Missouri, whose son. Dr. Lester R. Ford, born in October, 1886. graduated from the \\'arrensburg Normal College, graduated with honors at Missouri Cniversity. winning the Harvard Scholarship, later winning another scholarship at Harvard, studied in Paris, filled the chair of Professor of Mathematics at Harvard, lectured upon ^lathematics at Edinburgh University. Scotland, for two years, holds several degrees, and is now a member of the National Army stationed at Camp Meade. Boston: Richard \\'.. the youngest son. is a master mechanical engineer in charge of the operation of steam shovels in the strip coal mines at Rich Hill. Missouri.

In 1868. Willis B. ^larch removed with his family to Bates county and settled on a pioneer farm four miles southwest of Rich Hill in Osage township. There were very few settlements on the prairie at this time and vast unfenced stretches of grazing land met the eye in every direction. Game was plentiful and herds of deer ranged the prairies. Highways were unknown and the settlers followed the beaten trails when traveling. In 1881. Mr. March sold his first farm and moved to another tract located a short distance west of the original homestead. He resided here until his death, highly respected in the community, which he had helped to create. He was a Democrat and filled various township offices.

John J. IMarch attenrled the State Normal School at W'arrensburg, after receiving what education the district school was able to afford him. He taught school for several terms in Bates and Vernon counties and pursued a business course in a commercial college at Kansas City. From 1886 to 1891 he was engaged as bookkeeper for a coal mining concern in the vicinity of Rich Hill and during that time became financially interested in mining. He was connected with the mining industry near Rich Hill from 1884 to 1894 and during that time purchased his farm in Xew Home township, removing to the place in 1892. ]\lr. March has, with the exception of the seven years intervening between 1910 and 1917, which were spent in Nevada, Missouri, resided on his place since 1892. He moved to Nevada to afford his children high school educational advantages. He formerly owned two hundred twenty-five acres in New Home township, but has recently disposed of a tract of sixty-five acres.

October 13, 1887, ]Mr. ^March was married to ]Miss Alice V. Powers, who has borne him two children, as follow: Nellie H., a teacher in the public schools, and a graduate of the Nevada High School, and A\'alter B., a graduate of the Nevada High School and now farming on the home place. Mrs. Alice V. March was born February 14, 1867. in California, a daughter of William and Mary (McCoolj Powers, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively. William Powers was a son of one of the early Missouri pioneers who came to this state in 1840 and made a settlement in Bates county in 1845. He went to the gold fields of California in 1849 and remained for three years. He was born in 1824 and died in 1868. His wife, prior to her marriage, was Mary McCool; she was born in 1827 and died in 1892. William Powers died when on a visit to Bates county to see about his property in this county. The Powers family returned from California in 1871.

Mr. and Mrs. ]Vlarch are members of the Christian church and Mr. March filled the post of elder of the Christian church at Nevada while a resident in that city. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He has been a life-long Democrat, one w^ho has been prominent in the councils of his party and held the of^ce of associate judge of the county court for two terms of two years each. He was first elected to the office in 1900 and again elected in 1902. During his term of office, the court in which he was a member, had charge of the erection of the county court house at Butler - the name of Judge March being carved upon the front entrance stone as one of the builders. Judge March was also a member of the District Drainage Commission which has had charge of the draining of the Marais des Cygnes valley and the redemption of a vast acreage of overflow land. Judge and Mrs. March are among the best and most intelligent of the citizens of Bates county and are prominent in their home community and the county.

David Willicim Laughlin, late prominent resident of Walnut township, was born near Mansfield, Ohio, January 23, 1831, and died in Bates county, on his country estate north of the town of Foster, January 31, 1908. He was the son of James and Elizabeth (Lee) Laughlin. James Laughlin was a native of Pennsylvania and a son of James Laughlin (I) founder of the family in America, a Scotch-Irishman, who crossed the Atlantic in 1786, and settled in Pennsylvania, where he plied his trade of expert weaver. James, father of David William, fought in the War of 1812 under General William Henry Harrison and took part in the campaign against the British and intended to relieve General Hull at Detroit. David William Laughlin was reared to young manhood in Ohio and in 1853 he made a settlement in Tama county, Iowa. He served for about five months as a soldier in Company E, Twenty-fourth Iowa Regiment of Infantry, during the Civil War and was severely wounded by accident just before the Battle of Helena, Arkansas, receiving a bullet wound just below the heart, through the lungs. He was married in 1854 and continued to reside in Tama county until 1869 when the condition of his lungs required that he seek a dryer climate. He came to Bates county, Missouri, in that year and purchased a farm on Walnut creek in the township bearing that name. He chose for his future home one of the most beautiful sites in western Missouri overlooking the timbered area of Walnut creek to the south of the residence. He first purchased a tract of two hundred eighty acres. He settled permanently in Bates county in 1871. He erected a comfortable residence which was beautified as the years passed and the trees and shrubbery with which he surrounded his domicile grew. Mr. Laughlin increased his land holdings to a total of twelve hundred eighty acres, wdiich included a section of land in Walnut township and another section in Kansas. The Laughlin home place north of Foster is one of the most attractive in Bates county or western Missouri. The white farmstead is located on a hill overlooking the wooded valley of the Walnut and is surrounded by shrubbery and trees. It resembles an eastern homestead with its flowers and vines. Upon Mrs. Laughlin's land is growing what is prob- ably the largest wild cherry tree in Missouri or the West and the greater part of the walnut timber is still standing in all of its virgin strength. Some of the walnut trees have attained a great growth, and it is a matter of sentimental attachment to the beautiful stretch of woodland for Mrs. Laughlin to continually refuse all offers for the valuable timber contained in the tract.

On October 13, 1864, David William Laughlin and Mary Eliza Blangy were united in marriage. To this marriage were born the following children : Elmer E., a prosperous farmer and large land owner of Walnut township, a sketch of whom appears in this volume ; Adelia, born February 3, 1868, wife of Dr. Herbert Canfield, Seattle, Washington, and mother of eight children - Clerice, David, Florian, Damon, Iris, Ruby, and Evelyn and Charles, deceased - David Canfield, the second oldest of these, being married and father of two children - Donald and Charlotte; Florence, born September 22, 1870, wife of Bert Hartshorne, Carterville, Missouri, mother of three children - Doyle, Lois, and Elpha; Vvilson, born May 6, 1873, and died January 16, 1909, married Nettie Humphrey, of Pleasanton, Kansas, in 1899, who died in May, 1916, leaving two sons: Harold and Reese; Irving Scott Laughlin, born December 19, 1875, married Mattie Sherburne, and died at Topeka, Kansas, .December 13, 1908, leaving one son, Winston; Fred, youngest of the family. The widow of Irving S. Laughlin is now a trained nurse at San Diego, California. Mrs. Mary Eliza Laughlin, widow of David William Laughlin, was born January 26, 1846, in Ohio, a daughter of James and Mary (Scott) Blangy, natives of Pennsylvania, and whose respective parents moved to Ohio, and thence to Iowa in 1852. The Blangys came to Missouri in 1869 and settled in the northern part of Walnut township on the farm now owned by Fred Laughlin. James Blangy died in this county in 1903 aged eighty-two years. His wife died in 1881 aged fiftyeight years. Two children survive them: Mrs. David W. Laughlin, and John T. Blangy, who resides in Walnut township.

David W. Laughlin became a member of the Presbyterian church in 1863 and in 1873 became one of the founders of the Greenview Methodist Episcopal church in Walnut township. He was also a liberal supporter of the Foster Methodist church and was a liberal giver to all religious works. His remains are interred in the old Woodfin burial ground in Walnut township. Mr. Laughlin was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and his entire life was so lived that none knew him but to love him and his death was regarded as a sincere loss to the

Fred Laughlin, who resides with his mother on the old home place, was born June 20, 1881. He was educated in the public schools and afterward studied at the Missouri and Iowa Agricultural Colleges, specializing in agriculture and animal husbandry. Since assuming charge of the farm he has been identified with the building up of a herd of registered Hereford cattle and registered Percheron horses, also in the feeding of hogs and cattle.

Fred Laughlin was married on March 31, 1911, to Miss Willia Darr, who was born August 24, 1891, at Walker, Missouri, a daughter of Robert and Jennie (Martin) Darr, natives, respectively of Shelby and Moniteau counties, Missouri. They came to Vernon county, Missouri and thence to Bates county, where both died and their remains lie buried in Amoret cemetery. Two children have been born to Fred and Willia Laughlin: Wilfred, born May 22, 1912; and Weston, born September 27, 1916.

William Perm Cobb, or ''W. P." Cobb, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred sixty acres in Walnut township, is one of the old settlers of Bates county, having been a bona fide resident of this county, with the exception of a few years during which he tried to find a better place of residence, since 1874. He was born August 29, 1855, in Lucas county, Iowa, a son of Robert Winchester and Sarah (Arnold) Cobb, both of whom were born and reared in Tennessee, whence they removed in 1S53 and made a settlement in Iowa. From Lucas county, Iowa, they came westward to Saline county, Missouri, in 1868. Four years later, the family removed to Texas, and, in 1874, they came to Bates county and the father purchased a farm near Appleton City in this county and resided thereon until his retirement to a home in Rich Hill, his death occurring in 1896 at the age of sixty-three years. His wife and the mother of the following children died in 1875 at the age of forty years. The children were: William Penn, subject of this sketch; Mrs. Lizzie IDerickson, resides in Oklahoma; John A., lives in western Kansas; Mrs. Anna Haynes, died in 1890, leaving five children; Mrs. Alice Hart, Kansas City; Mrs. Mollie Merchant, Rich Hill, Missouri, mother of four living children, and two children died in infancy.

W. P. Cobb accompanied his father to Missouri, Texas and thence to Bates county, where he resided with his father on the home place of the family, until 1875. He was then employed by John Brown, a farmer living near Montrose, Missouri, after which he rented land in this county until 1891. He removed at this time to western Kansas and purchased a homestead relinquishment of three hundred twenty acres, near Garden City, which he improved and cultivated until 1906. He sold his western Kansas farm in that year and, returning to Bates county, bought a farm one mile south of Rich Hill. He also owned an eleven-acre tract within the city limits of Rich Hill which he traded to Dr. E. N. Chastain for one hundred twenty acres in Walnut township in 1907, To this tract he has added forty acres, making a splendid farm of one hundred sixty acres in all.

Mr. Cobb was married in 1877 to Lizzie Griggs, who was born in Kentucky in 1861, a daughter of Roland and Minnie (Lewis) Griggs, who migrated to Bates county in 1870, moving thence to western Kansas in 1885, both parents dying in their new western home. To this marriage were born children, as follow: Claude, living on a farm east of Foster, married, but has no children; Chester, farmer. Walnut township, married and has two children, Roland Wendell and Claude Tyrus; Arthur, farmer. New Home township, has two children, Selma May and Royal Weldon; May, a stenographer in Kansas City; Harold, conducting a dairy farm at Overland Park, Kansas; Glennis, at home; Mrs. Maude Bright, Foster, Missouri, mother of two children, Evelyn and Cleo Irene. The mother of these children died in 1906 at the age of fortysix years.

Claude Cobb married Myrtle Jones, a daughter of N. C. Jones and niece of the famous "Buffalo" Jones. Mr. Cobb's first two children born, Millard, who died at the age of sixteen months, and Elmer, who died at the age of eight months, are buried in the family burial plat in Snodgrass cemetery, where also lie sleeping the remains of his father and mother. Mr. Cobb's second marriage occurred on September 13, 1908, with Emma Goodenough, of Foster, Missouri, a daughter of Jesse Goodenough.

Mr. Cobb is a Republican in politics and belongs to the Christian church. He is fraternally afifiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is an honest, industrious, hard working farmer citizen of Bates county, one who has been successful despite the fact that he had little or nothing of this world's goods when he started on his career.

Albert Clay Collins, an enterprising and successful farmer and stockman of New Home township, one of the more recent additions to the citizenship of Bates county, has "made good" as a farmer and dairyman. The Collins farm, consisting of two hundred acres of prime, rich land, is utilized so as to produce a maximum of crops. The home, with its buildings grouped about with large trees growing on the lawn and among the farm buildings, resembles a small village. The farm is primarily devoted to the dairy business, Mr. Collins maintaining a fine herd of thoroughbred Jerseys for cream production. The cream obtained from the milking of the thirty cows is shipped to the condenser at Fort Scott, Kansas, which is one of the finest concerns of the kind in the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a flourishing poultry business and raise each year from eight hundred to twelve hundred white Leghorns, a breed of poultry noted for their egg production. They also have at present a fine flock of Pekin ducks to the number of twenty-five. Mr. Collins raises two hundred fifty hogs annually. Mrs. Collins has what is the only aviary in Bates county, and probably the only one in western Missouri, outside of Kansas City. She is raising Hartz Mountain and Rowler canaries and has seventy of the feathered songsters in the home at the present writing. With all these things to care for and all of which are money makers and each intended to add to the revenue of the Collins farm, it will thus be seen that Mr, and Mrs. Collins are very busy people.

A. C. Collins was born September 26, 1874, in Platte county, Missouri, a son of Harrison and Eliza (Herndon) Collins, natives of Kentucky, who removed from Platte county to Cass county, Missouri, in 1877. The senior Mr. Collins bought a farm in Cass county and resided there until 1884. In that year he went to Anderson county, Kansas, and bought a farm which he improved and resided upon until his return to his old home county. Having met with reverses in Kansas, he found it expedient to begin again in Platte county and eventually owned a fine farm of one hundred sixty acres, which he sold, in 1916, and retired from active farm work. Harrison Collins is now making his home at Smithville, Missouri, and is aged sixty-five years. A. C. Collins left home in 1900 and went to the Indian Territory where he remained two years. Returning to Platte county, Missouri, he remained there until 1909, when he made his permanent home in Bates county.

November 26, 1907, Mr. Collins and Miss Lillian L. Bell, a daughter of James S. Bell, a Bates county pioneer, were married. Mrs. Collins was born and reared in Bates county. They have one child, Luella, born March 11, 1911.

of the Baptist church, and Mrs. ColHns belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Collins is fraternally allied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Smithville, Missouri. The team work, the co-operation in the management of their many departments of the farm work demonstrated by Mr. and Mrs. Collins is worthy of emulation. They always find plenty to do at all times of the year. They are mutually interested in the dairy business and the cultivation of the farm and are looked upon as an industrious, enterprising couple who are not afraid of work and are making good in their life work.

James S. Bell, a well-known Bates county pioneer, who is making his home with Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Collins, on the old Bell homestead, was born August 10, 1836, in Virginia, a son of James L. and Hannah Maria (Sherman) Bell, natives of Virginia, who immigrated to Missouri in 1837 and made a settlement in Cooper county. During the Civil War the family lived in St. Louis county and the elder Bell suffered losses exceeding sixty thousand dollars through the ravages of warfare. They remained in St. Louis county until 1867 and then came to New Home township, Bates county, in order to make a new start. James L. Bell lived in Bates county for the remainder of his days and died here. He was twice married, his second wife being Marinda (McCutcheon) Bell, who is still living at the age of over ninety-four years.

J. S. Bell enlisted in the Southern Army in 1864 down in Texas, whither he had gone in 1861. He was a member of a band of Partisan Rangers connected with the Confederate forces and he served until the close of the war, taking part in many battles, the most miportant engagement being the battle of Mansfield, or Sabine Cross Roads. His service extended in all parts of Texas and Louisiana. After the war ended he became a trader in cattle and drove large herds of Texas cattle to the Northern states to be sold. When he first went to Texas he was interested in sheep raising but lost out in this venture and engaged in cattle raising and herding on the Texas plains. James S. Bell, his father, had entered large tracts of land in New Home township, entering six hundred forty acres, which he gave back to his father during the war, when his father had met with severe reverses.

on his father's land holdings. Eventually his father gave back the land to him and he prospered exceedingly, becoming ow^ner of eight hundred acres in Bates county and a part owner w^ith his brother, Charles Bell, of four thousand acres in Kansas. Having given land to his children he now^ owns a tract of three hundred sixty acres. During his active career, Mr. Bell was an extensive raiser and feeder of cattle.

James S. Bell was married in 1876 to Fannie Rand, who was born in Missouri in 1853, a daughter of James Rand, a pioneer settler of Bates county, concerning whom an account is given elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Bell departed this life in 1889. The following children were born to James S. and Fannie (Rand) Bell: Frank, Bartlettsville, Oklahoma; James S., a farmer in Osage township, and Mrs. Lillian L. Collins.

It is worthy of note that James L. Bell was father of twelve children, all of whom attained maturity and of whom the following are now living: James S. ; Mrs. Louisa Sulens, Pueblo, Colorado; Mrs. Virginia Yagle, Saline county, Missouri; Charles C, Oklahoma; Lida and Hattie, Pueblo, Colorado.

Mr. Bell has been a life long Democrat. He was the first Democratic township-official to hold office in New Home township after the war when the vote was given to the former secessionists. He is a member of the Methodist church.

William M. Bell. The late William M. Bell, of New Home township, a pioneer settler of Bates county, was the son of Missouri pioneer parents. He was born in Cooper county, Missouri, March 21, 1850, and departed this life at his home in Bates county, January 5, 1916. He was a son of James L. and Hannah Maria (Sherman) Bell, both of whom were natives of Virginia. James L. Bell was a son of Rev. Charles Bell, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal faith, a miller and owner of a large plantation in Virginia. Rev. Charles Bell was ol English descent and his ancestors settled in Virginia prior to the Revolutionary War.

James L. Bell was born in Virginia in 1807, married in that state and migrated to Cooper county, Missouri, in the early thirties. He was a son of Charles Bell, who was born November 20, 1770, and died August 29, 1825. The Bell family became well established in Cooper county and were wealthy prior to the Civil .War period, during the course of which so many families of Southern extraction were impoverished. Hannah Maria (Sherman) Bell was a daughter of Captain

Samuel Sherman, who was born in Virginia on March 3, 1776, and there married Nancy Martin, who was born November 27, 1781. Samuel M. Sherman was a veteran of the War of 1812, and departed this life January 14, 1815. During the Civil War, James L. Bell, with his family, removed to St. Louis county, Missouri, and remained there until the close of the war. After the war was over, he came to Bates county and settled on land in New Home township which he had previously entered from the United States Government.

William M. Bell accompanied his parents to St. Louis county, where he remained until the Civil War closed and then went to Cooper county and spent about one year in assisting close up his father's affairs in that county. This task being accomplished he came to Bates county and lived with his father on the Bell homestead until he erected the home now occupied by his widow and son in New Home township. He began with one hundred acres of land which he improved and brought to a high state of cultivation. He prospered during the course of time and added to his possessions until he owned two hundred sixty acres of the best land in Bates county. The Bell homestead is located on a hill and the farm land gently slopes to the southward from the home. For the first year of their residence on the place, he and his wife lived in a one-room cabin which was boxed, ceiled, and weatherboarded, after which additions were made to the residence.

Mr. Bell was married on December 7, 1881, to Miss Rosa Caldwell, who was born November 6, 1860, in Johnson county, Missouri, a daughter of Benjamin and Martha (Craig) Caldwell, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, and whose parents were pioneers who settled near Boonville, Missouri. Benjamin Patton Caldwell, father of Mrs. Bell, was a son of Benjamin P. Caldwell, who resided in Kentucky and died there. His wife was Elizabeth Toomey, who was left a widow with a large family which she brought to Missouri in 1839. Her children were James, Benjamin P., Elizabeth, Mary Jane, Margaret, Phoenis, Christopher, and Catherine Caldwell. Benjamin Patton Caldwell was born in 1824 and died in July, 1907. He located in Johnson county, Missouri, in 1848, and came to Bates county in 1878, settling in New Home township. Mrs. Caldwell, mother of Mrs. Bell, died when Mrs. Bell was a child, and Benjamin P., married Mrs. Martha Koontz, a widow.

children, Irene and Rosalie; William Louis, a farmer living in Ne^v Home township, married Sylvia Goodrum, and has four children, Harold, Donald, Pauline and Virginia; and Fletcher Caldwell, who is managing the home place of the Bell family, born April 11, 1894, received his education in the district schools, a very intelligent young man who is a capable farmer and a good citizen. Like his father before him, Fletcher Caldwell Bell is a Democrat and he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.

The Bell family is one of the oldest and most highly respected pioneer families in Bates county, every member of which is a successful and enterprising citizen. William M. Bell was a worthy representative of his family and his life was so lived that when death called him from his earthly labors his loss was sincerely mourned by the people of his home community.

Joseph S. Franklin, during the forty years of his residence in Bates county, has achieved a success which is remarkable, and he has risen from a condition of comparative poverty in his young manhood to become one of the large land owners of w^estern Missouri. The Franklin holdings comprise eleven hundred acres of productive prairie lands in Walnut township bordering on the Kansas line just south of the town of Worland. There are six sets of farm improvements on this vast acreage and the land is tilled by the sons-in-law of Mr. Franklin. Mr. Franklin began his career as a herder of sheep and cattle on the plains in the w^est part of Bates county in the interest of Judge B. Clark, of Boonville, who formerly owned the land which Mr. Franklin gradually purchased. Much of the Franklin land is underlaid with extensive coal deposits which are on the eve of development by mining concerns.

J. S. Franklin was born August 4, 1849, in Owen county, Indiana, and was a son of John and Jane (Elliot) Franklin. His father was born in Burke county. North Carolina, October 14, 1824, and was the son of Thomas C. and Dorothy (Davis) Franklin, natives of North Carolina of English extraction. Thomas C. Franklin, grandfather of the subject of this review, was a cousin of Benjamin Franklin, famous in American colonial and Revolutionary history. He settled in Indiana as early as 1825. John Franklin was educated in the Spencer Academy, Indiana, and on October 28, 1844, married Jane Elliot, of Virginia, who bore him three children: James D., deceased; Joseph Samuel, subject of this sketch; and John Thomas. Mrs. Jane Franklin died September 28, 1853 and on October 3, 1857, John Franklin married Susan J. Moore, daugh- ter of Hon. George W. Moore, who bore him five children : Robert Burns, Highland Mary, Dorothy, George and Delia. John Franklin became owner of four hundred twenty acres of land and departed this life in 1892. James D., his oldest son, served in the Union army during the Civil War and died in 1913. John Thomas Franklin, his second son, is living in Greene county, Indiana.

The early education of J. S. Franklin was obtained in the district schools of his native county in Indiana. He left home to make his own way in 1868 and located in Carroll county, Missouri, where he was employed at farm labor until 1871. He then went to Kentucky and remained there for one year, returning to Carroll county. In 1874 he made a return trip to Indiana and remained amid old home scenes until 1877 when he again came to Missouri and made his home with Judge Clark, of Cooper county. Judge Clark owned a large tract of land in the western part of Bates county and he leased this tract to Mr. Franklin who came out here and took charge of it in 1878. Mr. Franklin at first cared for a drove of one thousand, five hundred thirty-five sheep on a partnership basis, but the raising of sheep proving to be unprofitable during the first six years of his tenure, he engaged in cattle raising, made good profits and paid back his losses incurred during the sheep raising venture. He then went to see Judge Clark and leased the land so as to engage in cattle raising on his own account. For the past thirty years he has been accumulating acreage. His first investment was in eighty acres at the cost of ten dollars an acre; he then bought another "eighty"' at a purchase price of twenty-five dollars an acre; bought two hundred forty acres at eighteen dollars an acre, and so on, until he had gathered together his large estate of one thousand one hundred acres. Seven hundred acres of the Franklin land is underlaid with the top vein of coal which is being mined in different parts of the county and another fivefoot vein has been discovered at a depth of two hundred seventyfive feet below the surface. Mr. Franklin has recently leased one hundred acres for coal mining of the surface coal, the mining to be done by drifting.

Mr. Franklin was married September 25, 1879, to Mattie E. Smith, born April 27, 1852, in Cooper county, Missouri, a daughter of Jeremiah Smith (born 1810 - died 1896), a native of Tennessee, who w^as a Missouri pioneer, and witnessed the first steamboat which steamed up the Missowri river in 1817. He lived at Old Franklin, where his papents were pioneers. He was a son of Thomas Smith, and when a young man, he married Letitia George, who was reared to maturity in Cooper county. Col. Robert McCuhough, an early sheriff of Cooper county, was a relative of the Smith family. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin have six children, three sons and three daughters, as follow: Maude, wife of L. P. Sylvester, living on the Franklin land, has four children - Alice, Lemuel, Efton, and Edra; Minnie H., wife of I. E. Mullies, also living on the Franklin farm, has two children - Edna, and Ewing; Clark C, Clay Center, Nebraska, married Jennie Ellis, and has three children - Ruby, Joseph, and Maxine ; Edward, Cheyenne, Wyoming, married Maude Miller; Lura, wife of Lon Baldwin, on the Franklin farm, has two children - Vernie, and Lavina Fern; AVilliam Wirt, a druggist, Hume, Missouri.

Mr. Franklin has always been a Democrat and served as deputy sheriff of Bates county for twenty years, holding of^ce under Sheriffs Glazebrook, Ludd, Morris, Collier and Joe T. Smith. He belongs to the Baptist church while Mrs. Franklin is a member of the Presbyterian church. Few men who began their active careers without capital and have spent their whole lives as tillers of the soil have accomplished more than has J. S. Franklin. His industry during these many years has been unabated and his business judgment was always been sound; his standing in Bates county places him among the county's leaders.

William D. Clouse, an intelligent, enterprising, progressive farmer of Walnut township, is a native of Jackson county, Missouri. Mr. Clouse was born January 3, 1878, a son of William Henry and Mrs. Lovina (Schroyer) Shepherd Clouse, natives of Ohio and Indiana, respectively. His father was born in Meigs county, Ohio, and his mother was born in Posey county, Indiana. The first husband of William D. Clouse's mother was killed at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, while serving in the Union army. William Henry Clouse was reared in Ohio and when a young man went to Illinois. He was married in that state and in 1867, came out West and made a settlement in Jackson county, Missouri, where he resided until 1880. In that year he located in Bates county, living on a farm near Worland, until his removal to a farm near Foster. When the town of Foster was started, he engaged in the livery and transfer business and also carried the mail for several years. I^ater, he engaged in the grocery business after disposing of his livery business. When the town, or business section, of Foster was destroyed by fire, his place of business was burned out and he then went to Oklahoma and is now residing on a farm located just on the outskirts of the city of Shawnee. Mr. and Mrs. Clouse celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary on December 5, 1914. The following children were born to William H. and Lovina Clouse: James Albert, Shawnee, Oklahoma; Charles H., an extensive farmer and stockman, Walnut township; Mrs. Araminta Pierce, living near Mulberry, Kansas; Thomas Thornton, now a soldier in the National Army, in training at Long Island, New York; Mrs. Mary Alice Teckel, Kay county, Oklahoma; William D., subject of this sketch; Emma Jane, wife of M, H. Thomas, Walnut township; Sabitha, deceased. By her first marriage, Mrs. Clouse is mother of one child, Mrs. Ada Belle Epham, Shawnee, Okla.

W. D. Clouse was educated in the Foster public schools and assisted his father in his business for several years. He then joined the Eldorado Springs Brass Band and played in this organization for two years. He also clerked for his brother in the store at Foster for some time. In 1901, he began farming on his own account near Sprague, Missouri. In 1902, he located on the J. P. Thomas place and resided there for a year. In 1903, he made his first purchase of ninety acres from the Walnut Coal Mining Company and to this tract he has added another forty acres. Mr. Clouse has built all the improvements on his farm and has a very pretty farmstead, improved with handsome cot,- tage, a splendid barn, and other necessary buildings, all kept in a fine state of repair.

Mr. Clouse was married on May 28, 1900, to Miss Martha Thomas, born July 21, 1882, in New Home township, the youngest daughter of J. P. Thomas, pioneer settler of New Home township, concerning whom an extended review is given elsewhere in this volume. To W. D. and Martha Clouse have been born two children: Cecil Calvin, born December 13, 1903, and Doris Pauline, born December 15, 1913. Mr. Thomas is allied with the Republican party but votes independently of party domination, believing that the cause of good government can best be served by voting for the man who seems best fitted to perform the duties of the office sought, rather than to adhere strictly to party lines. He and Mrs. Clouse are members of the Christian church and both are members of the Red Cross, in which organization Mrs. Clouse, with many other women of the Foster neighborhood, is a worker.

Matthew S. Simpson, proprietor of "Valley View Farm," located upon the Jefferson Highway southwest of Butler in New Home township, widely known livestock dealer, is a "self-made", successful citizen, who has lived in Bates county for nearly forty-eight years and can rightly be classed with the old settlers of the county. Valley View Farm comprises one hundred seventy-seven acres, the odd acreage being due to the fact that the Missouri Pacific Railroad runs through the farm. Mr. Simpson has resided on his present place since October 2, 1907, and during his tenure on the farm has rebuilt practically all of the fences, replacing the worn out and delapidated fences, which formerly divided the land into fields, with woven wire fencing of the best quality. He has remodelled both residence and barns and liberally used paint until the Simpson place is one of the most attractive farmsteads along the Jefferson Highway. As a usual business venture, Mr. Simpson feeds about four car-loads of cattle annually and at the time of this writing, December of 1917, had about three loads of cattle on the place. He feeds all grain raised on the farm and also buys grain to complete his feeding. The splendid grain crops raised on the place in 1917 obviated the necessity of buying grain during the past winter season. For a number of years, Mr. Simpson has been an extensive buyer and shipper of cattle, an occupation which has given him a wide and favorable acquaintance thoughout Bates county.

M. S. Simpson was born October 30, 1864, in Hancock county, Illinois, a son of William Harrison and Sarah Ellen (Zinn) Simpson, natives of Illinois. William H. Simpson was a son of Irish parents and the parents of Mrs. Sarah Simpson were natives of Virginia. In 1870, the family came to Bates county and located on a farm seven miles northwest of Butler, on Miami creek in Charlotte township. William H. Simpson developed a good farm and is still residing on the place upon which he settled forty-eight years ago. He was born in 1838 and is one of the oldest settlers of Charlotte township. His children are as follow: William A., died March 9, 1915; Matthew S., subject of this sketch; E. E., living in Kansas City; C. A., resides in Butler; Harry H., living in Charlotte township ; L. P., living on a farm one mile southwest of Butler; Fred G., residing near Centralia, Oklahoma, and Mrs. Josephine Wilcox, Butler, Missouri. The mother of these children died in 1887.

The small amount of schooling which M. S. Simpson received was at Hazel Dell school house. Being the second son of the family, it was necessary for him to begin working on the farm when still a youth. Being strong and hardy, he was able to do a man's work while still in his teens, and his boyhood days were spent in tilling the acreage upon his father's farm, planting and harvesting the crops from year to year.

When he became of age, he began farming on his own account. His first farm was located in Elk county, Kansas, where he engaged in grazing stock for a period of six years. In 1891 he left Elk county, Kansas, and went to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was employed with the Waupam Wind Mill Company for one year. He then moved to Edgar, Clay county, Nebraska, and farmed in that county for a year, returning to Bates county in 1894. He rented land for two years after his return and then purchased eighty acres. Upon the opening of the Kiowa Indian reservation in Oklahoma in 1901 he drew homestead claim No. 3213, located sixteen miles northwest of Anadarko, McKinley township, McAdoo county, September 19, 1901, he located on his claim and sold it in the spring of 1903 to W. C. Mason, of Ainsworth, Iowa. He returned home and purchased eighty acres in section 18, Mound township, upon which he resided until October 2, 1917, when he moved to his present farm in Section I of New Home township.

Mr. Simpson was married May 25, 1889, to Laura M. Dunbar, who w^as born in Nebraska, a daughter of James A. and Margaret (Tripp) Dunbar, native residents of that state. To this marriage have been born the following children: Mrs. Nellie B. Osborne, living on a farm nine miles southwest of Butler; William H., married Olive Nightwine, and lives near Nyhart; Sarah Ellen, wife of Orlen Eggleson, Butler, Missouri, has one child, Anna Laura; James A., employed in a Kansas City bank; Charles, farming on his own account in Bates county; and Leona, Cleo, Joseph, and Louise, at home. Mrs. Nellie Osborne is the mother of three children: William, Christina, and Robert. Mr. Simpson is a Republican in politics.

Mrs. Lulu (Rand) Fleming, residing on her farm of one hundred sixty acres in New Home township, located on the Jefferson Highway, not far from Rich Hill, is a daughter of one of the old and prominent families of Bates county. She was born July 20, 1861, in Benton county, Missouri, a daughter of James Rand, a native of Indiana.

James Rand was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, November 16, 1829, a son of James and O. (McLean) Rand, natives of Ohio. His grandfather, Thomas Rand, was a Revolutionary soldier and one of the pioneers of Kentucky. James Rand was reared on a farm, and at the age of twenty-three years, married Margaret Bassett, who was born in 1833 and died in 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Rand came to Missouri in the early fifties and located in Benton county. During the Civil War, Mr. Rand was a captain of the Home Guards. He had removed to Indiana soon after the outbreak of the Civil War. He returned to Benton county at the close of the war, in 1865, and after a further three years' residence in that county removed to Bates county and began the improvement of a tract of about two thousand acres of land, which he had entered from the government in 1857. His home place contained four hundred eighty acres and upon this tract he erected a home which was considered a splendid mansion in those days. He developed in all about one thousand acres and was extensively engaged in cattle raising, feeding from one hundred to one hundred fifty cattle and a proportionate number of hogs yearly. Mr. Rand died July 23, 1882. His children were as follow : Charlie, who died at the age of twenty-three years ; Carrie, died when seven ; Thomas, died at an early age ; Harry, died when one year old; Rolla, lives in Kansas City; Mrs. Lulu Fleming, subject of this sketch; Benjamin L., Osage township; and Fannie, deceased wife of J. S. Bell, of New Home township, who was the eldest of the family.

Mrs. Lulu (Rand) Fleming inherited a quarter section of land from her father's estate. January 8, 1882, she was united in marriage with T. L. Fleming. The children born to this marriage are: Margaret, wife of Charles Ganaway, Rich Hill, mother of following children, one of whom, Thelma, aged fifteen years, has been reared by her grandmother as her very own, the others living being Moselle, thirteen years old; Ruth, eleven years old, and Gertrude, aged six; Samuel J. Fleming, born October 17, 1888, now a private in the National Army, stationed at Camp Pike, Little Rock, Arkansas, Headquarters Three Hundred Thirty-sixth Field Artillery.

The Fleming residence, situated upon an elevation overlooking Jefferson Highway, is a very attractive place. Many evergreens dot the large lawn, which slopes gently from the house to the road. The land is underlaid with coal, which is now being mined to assist in supplying the great demand for fuel in the country at the present time. Mrs. Fleming is a member of the Christian church. She is a capable business woman, one who is amply able to manage her own affairs.

James L. Strien. - The Strien family is one of the oldest and most historic of Bates county and the old homestead in New Home township contains many reminders of the days of long ago when this thickly settled country was a wilderness. A wide open fireplace sends out a cheery blaze on cold, wintry days to the visitor upon entering the large livingroom of the house. Natural forest trees shade the yard bordering on the highway. An account of this old family covers a period of four score years of their part in Missouri's history and sixty-three years of the history of Bates county.

The late James L. Strien, of New Home township, was born September 11, 1842, in Franklin county, Missouri, a son of William P. H. and Levicy Cole (Boles) Strien, the former, born October 22, 1812, and the latter, born August 16, 1813. Both parents were natives of White county, Tennessee. William P. H. Strien was one of the earliest of Missouri's pioneers. He came from Franklin county to Bates county in 1854, after two years' residence in Vernon county, Missouri. He pre-empted and also purchased land in what is now the northeast part of New Home township. The Strien place was practically covered with timber which required the hardest kind of labor to clear and place in cultivation. William P. H. Strien died November 17, 1862, and his remains are interred in the family burial plat near the homestead. Levicy Strien, his wife, died May 30, 1860.

James L. Strien was twelve years old, wdien his parents came to Bates county, and he was a strong lad for his years. He wielded an axe and drove an ox-team, thus assisting clear the place of timber and place it under cultivation. About 1861, or 1862, he crossed the plains with a freighting outfit and for a period of three years served as a "bull whacker" or ox-team driver in the West. His first overland trip was made from St. Joseph to the famous mining camp of Virginia City in Nevada and he made the return trip mostly by boat on the Missouri river. While in the Western country, he hauled goods over the mountains and handled flour, when it retailed for one hundred dollars per sack. He drove for the Diamond R. Freighting Company and had many interesting and exciting experiences during his three years as plainsman. He drove a freight wagon pulled by six yoke of oxen. Mr. Strien freighted between Helena, Montana, situated at the head of navigation on the Missouri river, to Virginia City, and it is said that he hauled the first load of goods into Virginia City, when the famous mining city was in process of building. When he returned to his old home in Bates county in 1865 he found nothing but the ruins of the house which his father had built, and of necessity, was compelled to erect another home for himself. Mr. Strien returned home in 1865 and settled on the old home place of the family, residing there until his death, June 19, 1915. He became owner of four hundred twenty acres of well-

November 3, 1878, James L. Strien and Sarah J. Berry were united in marriage. To this union have been born the following children : Lydia Frances, born October 23, 1880, at home with her widowed mother; Annie Catherine, born October 21, 1882; and James Walter, born October 9, 1884, is operating the home farm.