Henry County, Missouri - Biographical sketches, 1919 (part 4 of 17)

Nicholas Erhart was bom on July 19, 1831 in Bavaria, Germany, and died at his home in Bear Creek township, July 18, 1915. In 1844, he emigrated with his parents, George and Susannah (Schrepfer) Erhart who settled in Cole County, Missouri, near Jefferson City. On the way to the West, his mother died at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. George Erhart made a home near Jefferson City and died there. Nick Erhart was there reared to young manhood and enlisted and served as a soldier in the Mexican War, receiving for his services a Mexican Land Grant in Henry County to which he came soon after the war ended. Not content with having served his country in Old Mexico, he enlisted with the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War and was badly wounded at the Battle of Lone Jack. He was hit in the shoulder and was honorably discharged, but after his wound had healed he returned again to the Union service. Mr. Erhart was very successful as a farmer and stockman and accumulated a total of 1,280 acres of land, much of which he gave to his children, owning at the time of his death 320 acres.

pioneer of Moniteau County, Missouri, who also made an early settlement in Henry County. Four children born to Nick and Malvin Erhart are living: Mrs. Viola Dutro, Brownsville, Texas; Mrs. Georgian Layman ; Mrs. Ida Adkins, Bear Creek township ; Mrs. Nellie Harness, Kansas C;ity, Missouri. Mr. Erhart was a Republican and a member of the Lutheran Church. He was a charter member of the Montrose Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

John Layman is a supporter of Republican political principles. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Montrose. He and Mrs. Layman are popular, well liked, industrious and enterprising people, who are hospitable to the core and have many warm friends among the people of Henry County.

Woodford A. Snapp. - There is nothing more pleasant than to meet an Missouri old settler who has lived a useful life, reared his family, at peace with the world and friends with his neighbors, and glad to be alive; having accomplished his destined mission on earth - that of rearing an excellent family, creating a home for himself and having provided for his declining years, is the estimable record of Woodford A. Snapp, one of the old timers of Henry County who is still hale and hearty despite his more than three score years and ten as allotted him by divine interpretation of the Scriptures.

Mr. Snapp was bom June 2, 1847, in old Tennessee, and is the son of A. A. and Lavine (Bird) Snapp, natives, respectively, of Vii'ginia and Tennessee. Both parents come from old Southern families of the. true pioneer type. As early as 1848 the Snapp family came to Cooper County, Missouri, and there established their home amid many of their former friends and acquaintances from Tennessee who had preceded them. In this county the elder Snapp created a fine farm, reared a useful family and departed this life after his work was done.

W. A. Snapp was reared to young manhood in Cooper County and when he had attained the age of twenty-five years (1872) he started out for himself and made a location in Pettis County, Missouri. Here he followed farming pursuits and was married in September of 1874 to Miss Sarah J. Lacey, a native of Pettis County, and daughter of George W. Lacey one of the well-known citizens of that county. To this marriage were born a large family of children, eight of whom were reared: Alpheus A. Snapp, is a clerk in the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railway offices at Sedalia, Missouri ; Mrs. Mary Sargent lives in Bear Creek town- ship; Jacob A. resides in Springfield township, Henry County; Walter M., at home with his parents; Robert L., Tulsa, Oklahoma; Rev. George B. Snapp, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now stationed at Chilhowee, Missouri; Mrs. Lillie Myrtle Crouch, Bear Creek township; Fred, a farmer in Bear Creek township.

Mr. Snapp has resided in Henry County since the year 1876, made his start in this county, and has OAvned various farms throughout the county. His fine farm of forty acres located in Bear Creek township is well improved and affords him a comfortable living. It is probable that there is not a more contented nor a happier and jollier citizen in Henry County than Mr. Snapp. He is a Democrat and has always espoused Democratic principles and supported the policies of his party and firmly believes that President Wilson is the greatest living figure in the world today. He and the members of his family are Baptists.

Judge William Benjamin Collins, a member of the County Court from the north district of Henry County, is a native son of this county and belongs to one of the pioneer families of western Missouri. Judge Collins was born July 18, 1856, in Big Creek township, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Wooster) Collins, natives of Virginia. Thomas Collins was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, August 20, 1816, and came to Warren County, Missouri, with his parents in 1825, when he was about nine years of age. He was a son of George Collins, who spent the remaininder of his life in Warren County after coming to this State.

Thomas Collins went to California in 1849 with an ox team train. He met with more than the success of the average gold seeker and when he returned he came by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New Orleans, and had several thousand dollars in gold, which he exchanged for currency at New Orleans. He came to Henry County in 1855, settled near where Garland is now located in Big Creek township. Here he bought three hundred twenty acres of land, and later added more acreage until at one time he owned over eight hundred acres. He died February 10, 1899. His wife departed this life September 9, 1872, and their remains are buried in the Norris Cemetery. Thomas and Sarah (Wcoster) Collins were the parents of the following children: William B., the subject of this review, and James T. and John Pressly, twins. James T. lives in Bogard township and John Pressly died at the age of eight years.

When the Collins family settled in Henry County this section of Missouri was sparsely settled. Indians were still within the present borders of Henry County. When Judge Collins was a baby the squaws who lived in the vicinity of the Collins family often wanted to borrow the white pappoose, but his mother, fearing that they might forget to bring him back, persistently refused to loan him for the amusement of the squaws. Judge Collins lives practically on the same place where he was born, and still drinks water from the same well from which he drank during his boyhood days. He attended school in the rural district school in Big Creek township and in Honey Creek township. His first teacher as he remembers was a Miss Spangler. He has made general farming and stock raising his life's occupation and has met with a reasonable degree of success. He owns a valuable farm of two hundred acres in Big Creek township and eighty acres in Honey Creek. In addition to general farming he is also extensively engaged in stock raising, and is recognized as one of the successful stockmen of Henry County.

Judge Collins has been a life long Democrat and has always taken an interest in political affairs. He was elected county judge for the north district of Henry County in 1914 and re-elected in 1916. He has made a capable and conscientious public officer and has conducted the affairs of the county in the same capable, conscientious manner characteristic of him and his private business affairs.

Judge Collins was united in marriage February 20, 1876, to Miss Mary Blevins, a daughter of R. P. and Missouri Ann (Crockett) Blevins, the former a native of Henry County and the latter of Indiana. Further mention of the Blevins family history is made elsewhere in this volume. To William B. Collins and wife have been boi'n two children: Ella and John Pressley. Ella Collins is now the wife of Dr. S. W. Woltzen, a native of Illinois, born May 6, 1870. He was educated in the public schools of Minook and Benson, Illinois, and the St. Louis Medical College of St. Louis, Missouri. He practiced medicine for twenty-three years in Henry County and on June 23, 1917, was commissioned captain in the Medical Reserve Corps of the United States Army and served in that capacity until his honorable discharge on account of sickness in June, 1918. John P. Collins, the only son born to Judge Collins and wife, is now engaged in farming in Big Creek township, Henry County. He married Ethel Miller November 14, 1906.

William Daniel Hendrick. - To have been one of the first white children bom in Henry County and to have fought for the preservation of the Union were two of the honors which fell to the lot of the late Will- iam Daniel Hendrick of Bear Creek township. He also bequeathed to Henry county and the nation one of the largest families ever reared in the county. Death called him from his earthly labors too soon for him to rear his large family to maturity and the task devolved upon his noble and capable helpmeet who has achieved one of the most remarkable successes as a successful agriculturist and business woman in this section of Missouri.

William Daniel Hendrick was boi'n November 27, 1841, in the northwest part of Henry County, and was the son of Asa and Martha (Higgins) Hendrick, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, and who settled in Henry County during the early thirties. William D. Hendrick was reared to young manhood in Henry County and enlisted in the Union Army in 1863 as a Government teamster, serving for nearly one year. He was married in 1876 to Miss Margaret Mohler, who was born June 20, 1858, in Dark County, Ohio, the daughter of Rev. John S. and Mary H. (Risser) Mohler, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively, both of whom were descended from Pennsylvania German stock. The Mohlers came to Missouri in 1868 and after spending one year in Johnson County, near Knob Noster, they came to Henry County in the fall of 1869 and settled on a farm three miles northeast of Urich, residing there until 1878. They then moved to a farm near Deepwater. After residing here for some time they removed to Brown County, Kansas, and from there they went to Gove County, Kansas, with their children. Rev. John S. Mohler was a minister of the Gennan Baptist Church and his whole life was spent in ministerial and agricultural pursuits. He was born May 30, 1831 and died November 1, 1911. Mary H. (Risser) Mohler, his wife, was born November 11, 1852, and died March 17, 1912. They were parents of the following children: Mrs. Nannie R. Benezette, deceased; Martin R., Maurine, Missouri; Mrs. Maggie R. Hendrick; Mrs. Cassie R. Johnson, Kansas City, Missouri; Joseph R., Gove County, Kansas; Samuel R., Monti'ose, Missouri; Mrs. Rebecca R. Eisenbise, Gove County, Kansas; John R., Preston, Nebraska.

When William Daniel and Maggie R. Hendrick were married they settled on a farm two miles northeast of Urich which Mr. Hendrick had purchased. They lived for two years on this farm and then made a trade v/ith John R. Mohler, sold the place which he obtained to Mr. Hendrick's brother and then bought a farm south of Urich. One year later Mr. Hendrick sold this farm and made his home with his parents until

1881. In the fall of that year he purchased the farm in Bear Creek township which served as their home for six years. They sold this place and moved to a farm three miles of Montrose, remaining there until 1894, when they purchased the present home place of the family, consisting of 220 acres in Bear Creek township. During the dry year of I'JOl, when there was very little to occupy Mr. Hendrick in caring for crops he erected a splendid farm home which has been beautified until it is one of the attractive farm homes in Henry County.

Fourteen children were born to William D. and Maggie Hendrick: Etta May, born July 9, 1877, wife of Thomas Dugan, living near Montrose, and has six children, Emmet, Estell, Robert, Bernard, Margaret, and Dorothy; W. Warren, bom August 13, 1880, resides near Maxville, New Mexico, married Viola Nelson and has six children, Deena, William, Ruth, Rachel, Gracie, Mary Margaret; Maude M., born January 6, 1882, wife od Rufus Long, of Walker township, and has two children. Ruby Myrtha, and Roland; Anna M. born March 24, 1883, wife of Elmer Long, of Walker township, has five children, Ewall, Daniel, Estell, Nannie, and Anna Lee ; Gertrude L., born December 3, 1884, wife of Robert Skaggs, of Davis township; Grover R., born March 28, 1886, lives in Davis township, married Myrtle Tribble, and has one child, Glenn; Otis M., born April 14, 1888, lives near Manzanola, Colorado, and is a fruit and alfalfa grower, married Dorothy Rodman and has one child. Ruby Lois ; Bell, born May 27, 1890, wife of Harry Mason, of near Uneda, Missouri, Bear Creek township; Asa, born November 28, 1891, lives near Manzanola, Colorado, married Golden Hood, and has two children, Carl and Mary ; Virgie, born November 12, 1893, at home; Frances, born July 15, 1895, wife of Percy Pinkston, Bear Creek township, has one son, William Lee; Ruby; Ralph; Fern. William Daniel Hendrick, father of this remarkable family of children, died November 19, 1902. Mrs. Hendrick was left with their care and upbringing. She has accomplished the task in a most capable and really praiseworthy manner. Every child has been reared to become a good and worthy citizen and Mrs. Hendrick has ably managed her affairs so as to excite the admiration of those who know her. The farm improvements have been kept to a high standard; she has educated everyone of her fourteen children and assisted those who have left home to get a start for themselves and led them all to lead upright and worthy lives so that every child is a valued member of society in their respective communities.

Politically, William D. Hendrick was a supporter of the Democratic party although he was never active in political affairs. He was reared a Baptist by his parents, but Mrs. Hendrick and her children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was a member of the Agricola Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Henry County and the State of Missouri has benefited by his sojourn upon this earth and his life was within blemish; his place in the history of Henry County is well deserved.

H. Bryant Hollopeter. - Born and reared upon the farm in Henry County, H. B. Hollopeter of Bear Creek township, achieved a success as a railroad man, and then returned to his first love, after having accumulated sufficient funds to purchase a splendid farm near his old home in this township. Unlike many of those who have been employed in salaried positions for a number of years, he carefully saved his earnings, always with a view to becoming a tiller of the soil and thus be independent of the tenure of a railroad job, and to become his own boss on the farm. Mr. Hollopeter was born in 1859 in York County, Pennsylvania, the son of Frederick (born July 4, 1808; died March 3, 1893) Hollopeter, the son of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Frederick Hollopeter was reared in Pennsylvania and was there mai-ried in 1858 to Christian Troy, who was born August 26, 1836, in Clearfield County Pennsylvania, the daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Miles) Troy, natives of Pennsylvania.

Frederick Hollopeter came to Henry County in 1871 and purchased an eighty-acre tract of prairie land upon which he erected his permanent home in this county. Here he tilled his acres and lived to a good old age, surrounded by the comforts of his industry and thrift. He was father of four children: H. Bryant, subject of this review; Mrs. Phoebe Catharine Etter, Kansas City, Missouri; Mary, deceased; Irvin, Kansas City, Missouri ; Lydia, deceased ; Nellie, at home with her widowed mother, who has three gi'andchildren. Mr. Hollopeter was a Republican in his political faith and a member of the Brethren Church.

Bryant Hollopeter attended the Glenwood district school and also studied at Lamkin's Academy at Clinton. Like the greater number of Prof Lamkin's students he has achieved a success of his life. Prior to his marriage, in 1887, he had purchased a forty-acre tract of land which formed the nucleus around which he has built up his splendid 200-acre farm. When he was twenty-one years of age he began teaching school and continued teaching and farming until his marriage. In 1890 Mr. Hollowpeter engaged in railroad work with the Ft. Scott & Memphis Railroad Company and followed the profession of telegraph operator and station agent for twenty years. He was stationed at Deepwater, first as a helper, and then transferred to Cherokee, Kansas. Later he had charge of the railway station at Aldrich, Missouri; then he went to Creighton, Missouri, and after a term of service at Garden City, Missouri, he returned to his farm in 1910. During his career as a railroad man he purchased an additional 160 acres of land. In the year 1903, he erected a handsome brick residence upon his farm. Mr. HoUopeter has 120 acres in his home place, and an eighty-acre tract located two miles east of his home which he uses for pasture land. During this year (1918) he is cultivating twenty acres of corn, twenty acres of oats, and has seventy acres in grasses. Mr. HoUopeter is using fertilizer for his crops with the idea that it is his duty to raise bumper crops in this year of all years for the good of the country. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of La Due and served as cashier of the bank for some time, and is now a director and the assistant cashier of this bank.

The maiTiage of Bryant HoUopeter and Miss Ella Varner took place in 1887 and has been blessed with four children, two of whom are living: Freddie and Edith are deceased ; Paul, is railroad agent for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company at La Due and is making a success of his profession, being one of the youngest agents of the line; Ray is at home with his parents. Mrs. Ella (Varner) HoUopeter was bom in Ohio and is the daughter of Daniel and Mary Varner, who came to Henry County from Ohio in 1885.

The Republican party has generally had the allegience of Mr. Hollopeter. He is a member of the Brethren Church and is regarded as a highly desirable and progressive citizen of Henry County and ranks among the successful men of this county.

James Washington Johnson. - Prominent in the affairs of Henry county for nearly thirty-five years, energetic and progressive to a high degree, the late James W. Johnson was a man whose name will long be remembered in Henry County. He created a splendid farm during the course of his residence in this county and reared a fine family of children.

James W. Johnson, widely known as Judge Johnson, was born in Morgan County, near Versailles, Missouri, in 1846, and was the son of Anderson and Rebecca (Smith) Johnson, who were natives of Kentucky and settled in Missouri during the early thirties, when the greater portion of the State was an unpeopled wilderness. Anderson and Rebecca Johnson reared a family of ten children, of whom James W. was the fifth child. He, James W., was reared to young manhood in Morgan County and resided there until the spring of 1879, when he came to Henry County in search of a permanent home for his family. He enlisted in the Confederate service in 1864 during the Civil War and became a soldier when but seventeen years of age. He served under General Marmaduke and saw much active and hazardous service in southwest Missouri, Arkansas and Texas for over one year. Mr. Johnson's first purchase of land was eighty acres in Bear Creek township. This farm was hardly improved and an old log house which had been erected by a former proprietor served as the Johnson home for four years. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson then erected a substantial frame house. He set out a large orchard which bore bountiful crops of apples for many years until the past six years of drought practically ruined many of the trees. He added another eighty acres to his farm and then added forty acres, making two hundred acres in all in the Johnson farm.

In April of 1879, James W. Johnson and Miss Mary McCloud of Morgan County were united in marriage. Mrs. Mary Johnson was born in 1858 in Morgan County, Missouri, and is a daughter of W. H. and Elizabeth (Adams) McCloud, the former of whom was a native of South Carolina and the latter a native of Indiana. Elizabeth (Adams) McCloud was the daughter of Adam Adams, a pioneer settler of Morgan County, Missouri, whose wife lived to the great age of ninety-two years. Mrs. Mary Johnson is one of the seven children bom to her father's second marriage. He was father of six children by a former marriage. Her mother departed this life in February, 1898, her father having died in 1874. Three children were bom to James W. and Mary Johnson, as follows: Barrington Salmon, bom 1881, lives in Texas, married Jewell Rhodes, and has one child, James Samuel; Ewing McCloud Johnson, born April 1, 1893, enlisted in the department of mechanical service in the National Army for overseas service in the World War in behalf of world freedom, April 5, 1918 ; James Winkler, bom April 21, 1896, married March 14, 1918, to Crystal E. Hood, daughter of J. C. Hood of Montrose, Missouri.

county judge and came within two votes of being elected. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and took a proper interest in religious work. He was affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans, Norvel Spangler Camp No. 668, Clinton, Missouri, and took a great interest in the affairs of this organization. Mi. Johnson was a man worth while who left an indelible impress upon the life of the community in which he spent so many active years.

Charles Malcolm Adkins. - The Adkins family is one of the oldest of the prominent families of Henry County and dates back to the early forties when the grandfather of Charles M. Adkins came from Warren County, Missouri, to Henry County and settled upon a large tract of land located south of Clinton.

C. M. Adkins was born on a farm six miles southwest of Clinton, in 1872, and is the son of Henry G. (bom 1828, died 1875) and Zilpha Jane (Collins) Adkins. Henry G. Adkins was born in Virginia and was a son of John Ward Adkins, who was a pioneer in Warren County, Missouri, and came to Henry County in the early forties and made a permanent settlement south of Clinton. The mother of C. M. Adkins was born in 1828 in Tennessee, and was a daughter of Louis Collins. She died in October, 1903, in Clinton. There were five sons and five daughters born to Henry G. and Zilpha Jane Adkins, as follows: Missouri Ann, deceased wife of Joseph A. Harness, Kansas City, Missouri, died in May, 1918; John T., Clinton township; Louisa J., wife of Robert B. Casey, both of whom are deceased; Henrietta J., wife of Isaac J. Hinkle, both of whom are deceased, the former of whom died at her home in Montrose, April 11, 1918 ; Mary Elizabeth, wife of Granville Taylor, deceased ; William H., Greeley, Colorado; James J., deceased; Mrs. Zilpha H., deceased wife of Frank White; Charles H., deceased; Charles Malcom, subject of this sketch.

Henry G. Adkins achieved a remarkable success as an extensive farmer and stockman. He became owner of 2,400 acres of farm lands in Henry County and gave to each of his children, a tract of 240 acres. He came to Henry County without any capital whatever, and entered land. He was very prominent in affairs of Henry County during the early days and was widely known throughout the county. He farmed his land on an extensive scale and was a large feeder of live stock. Mr. Adkins was a charter member of the Clinton Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

C. M. Adkins attended the district schools and the Clinton schools and pursued a higher course at Lamkin's Academy. After completing his schooling he located on his grandfather's old place in Clinton township and farmed this 240-acre tract until his removal to Clinton, where he resided for ten years, coming to his present farm in Bear Creek township in 1914.

Mr. Adkins was married in 1892 to Miss Ida B. Erhart, a daughter of Nick Erhart, a biography of whom appears in this volume in connection with the sketch of John Layman. Mrs. Ida B. Adkins was educated in the district school and Baird College, and studied music and art. She is an accomplished musician and an artist of ability who has produced many paintings of merit. Mr. and Mrs. Adkins have three children: Monna Lucille, bom 1893, wife of D. S. Fuden, Jr., Clinton, Missouri; Mildred Viola, born January 1, 1895, wife of Charles L. Grimes, Clinton, Missouri, has two sons, Charles Louis, and James Adkins ; Henry Merritt, the youngest son, was born September 20, 1897.

Mr. Adkins has long been prominent in the affairs of the Democratic party and he served four years as deputy sheriff under Sheriff Hall while a resident of Clinton. He cast his first vote for Grover Cleveland for the presidency and has consistently voted for the Democratic candidates ever since. He and Mrs. Adkins are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

James H. Waugh, a leading farmer and influential citizen of Big Creek township, was born in Montgomery County, Indiana, February 27, 1866. He is a son of John W. and Julia A. (Hamilton) Waugh, natives of Indiana. The Waugh family trace their family history back to northern England to the year 1687, to John Waugh ,who was born in 1687 and died in 1781. His son, Joseph, was born in 1726 and died in 1819. Joseph's son, Josteph, Jr., was born in 1763 and died in 1849. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son, Milo, was born in 1804 and died in 1857. Milo was the father of John W., who was bom in 1839 and died in 1910, and he moved from Ohio to Indiana. His son, James H., is the subject of this sketch. John Waugh, the first above mentioned, who was born in England in 1687, immigrated to America in 1718, landing at Boston. Later he lived for a time in Maine and then New Hampshire. In 1745 he moved from New Hampshire to Litchfield, Connecticut.

John W. Waugh

where he bought one hundred twenty acres of land. He was a prosperous farmer and stockman and at the time of his death was the owner of eight hundred forty acres. He died August 14, 1911. He was prominent in public affairs and at one time was candidate for county judge on the Republican ticket. His wife died May 22, 1885, and their remains are interred in the Carpenter Cemetery.

John W. and Julia (Hamilton) Waugh were the parents of the following children: James H., the subject of this sketch; E. R., Blairstown, Missouri ; Mary, now the wife of Dr. L. L. Smith, Urich, Missouri ; R. H., Clarksville, Iowa; Jennie M., married Charles Crist and died at Chanute, Kansas, in 1910, and her remains are buried in Carpenter Cemetery; Walter S., on the home farm in Big Creek township; Minnie, married James Adair, Shawnee township, and Emma E., died in infancy. By a former marriage to Mary E. Henderson, the following children were born to John W. Waugh: William B., Baxter Springs, Kansas, and Martha, who married Ed Darr, and now resides at Blairstown, Missouri. John W. Waugh's first wife died June 28, 1864.

James H. Waugh received his education in the district schools of Big Creek township, attending school at district number two. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, when he engaged in fanning on his own account in Big Creek township. In 1895 he bought one hundred forty-five acres of land one-half mile south of Norris and since then he has added one hundred acres to his original purchase and now owns two hundred forty-five acres, which is one of the valuable farms in Big Creek township. The place is well improved, with a good farm residence and an ample supply of barns and other farm buildings. Mr. Waugh is a successful stockman and is an extensive feeder of both cattle and hogs, and his place is well equipped for stock raising and feeding purposes. He is of the type of agriculturist who follows farming not for a living, but as a business.

Mr. Waugh was united in marriage March 28, 1888, to Miss Gertrude Haines of Macon County, Missouri. She is a daughter of Joshua and Minerva (Kinzer) Haines, natives of Ohio, the former of Highland County and the latter of Adams County. The Haines family came to Missouri in 1867 and settled in Macon County. The father died in 1871 and the mother afterwards returned to Ohio and was there married to Thomas Murphy, and they came to Johnson County, Missouri, in 1879, and the following year settled in Henry County. They now reside at Chilhowee, Missouri.

To James H. and Gertrude (Haines) Waugh have been born the following children: Edward H., married Gertrude Albin and is now engaged in farming and stock raising near Norris, Missouri, has one child, Sylvia Daphney; John W., married Ursel Gilliam and lives near Norris, Missouri, has one child, Lyle Gilliam, and Jessie N., married James Hunter, Merrill, Blairstown, Missouri. Mr. Merrill is now a private in the National Army.

Mr. Waugh is a progressive citizen and is of the type of men who has contributed to make Henry County what it is today. Since coming to this county he has seen many changes and has many pleasant recollections of pioneer days. He has in his possession a picture of his first cabin home in Henry County, which he prizes very highly. He is one of the substantial men of Big Creek township whose citizenship means something to the community and county. He is a Republican. He is affiliated with Agricola Lodge No. 343 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He and Mrs. Waugh and the children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Fred C. Hill. - The success of an institution depends almost entirely upon the personality and ability of the executive head. A banking concern depends for its popularity and success upon the personality and ability of the cashier, especially in the smaller cities where the cashier is practically the only individual with whom the patrons are brought into personal contact while transacting business with the bank. The Montrose Savings Bank is a popular, thriving financial concern whose success is due in no small measure to the energy, geniality, progressiveness, and ability of its cashier, Fred C. Hill.

Fred C. Hill was born May 15, 1878 in Calhoun, Missouri, and is the son of George and Mary (Ostermeyer) Hill, natives, respectively of Indiana and Illinois. George Hill was born in 1853 and was the son of Christopher A. Hill, a native of Indiana who moved to Henry County, Missouri, in 1865 and made a settlement near Montrose. After a few years' residence in this vicinity he located at Calhoun, Missouri, where George Hill was married and embarked in the smithing business, being thus engaged for a number of years until his recent retirement. He, with his sons conduct a thriving mercantile business in Calhoun, which is one of the most prosperous towns in Henry County. Three sons were born to George and Mary Hill: Charles L. and Walter 0., merchants at Calhoun, Missouri; and Fred C, subject of this sketch.

Fred C. Hill was educated in the public schools of his native town, his education being supplemented by experience in the usual school which affords a thorough training for a young man who if possessed of ability, can make his own way in the world without an academic education and training. We refer, to the school of experience which requires that a man actually do things worth while. Mr. Hill's training has been such as to eminently fit him for banking. His first experience in banking was as bookkeeper in the Bank of Cahoun, a position which he entered upon in 1898. Two years later he became bookkeeper of the Citizens Bank of Windsor. In January of 1906 he became teller of the Clinton National Bank, a position which he resigned in June, 1906, to become cashier of the Montrose Savings Bank.

Mr. Hill was married in October, 1904, to Miss Earl Morrow, of Buffalo, Missouri, a daughter of R. A. Morrow. Two children have been born of this marriage: George Robert Hill, aged ten years; and Mary Ellen Hill, aged five years.

The Democratic party has always had the support and allegiance of Mr. Hill. He is affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of Clinton. Mrs. Hill is interested in religious works and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

The Montrose Savings Bank was established in 1895 by R H. Dugan, 0. P. Wilson, W. S. Winkler, and others. Mr. 0. P. Wilson sei-ved as the first cashier of the bank, and was succeeded by W. S. Winkler, who served as cashier until succeeded by the present incumbent, Fred C. Hill. This bank has a capital of $15,000, with a surplus of $15,000 and is in a flourishing and prosperous condition. The undivided profits on hand at this writing (April, 1918) exceed $1,750, all of which has been earned by the bank in due course of business. The bank is owned by twelve individual stockholders who live in Montrose or vicinity. The deposits now exceed $210,000. The officers of the bank are as follows: R. H. Dugan, president; H. Welling, vice-president; Fred C. Hill, cashier; R. H. Dugan, H. Welling, Fred C. Hill, A. J. Mann, Mrs. W. N. Nickell, Joseph DeBold, and W. L. Gurner form the board of directors.

Charles M. Clark, cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, Montrose, Missouri, was born August 4, 1869, in Deepwater township, Henry County, and is the son of David W. and Sarah E. (Jackson) Clarke, the former of whom was a native of Virginia and the latter was a native of North Carolina.

David Clark was the son of Joseph Clark, a native of Ireland, who emigrated from his native land to Virginia, and after a residence of some years in that State, he came to Missouri, as early as 1837, and settled in Lafayette county, developed a farm in that county and there ended his days. David Clark was reared to maturity in Lafayette County and was married in that county to Sarah E. Jackson. During the early fifties he came to Henry County and settled in Deepwater township, developing a farm which is still in possession of the Clark family. During the Civil War he served in Capt. John B. Newberry's company of Missouri State Militia. He resided upon his farm of 140 acres in Deepwater township until death came to him. Nine children were born to David W. and Sarah E. Clark: Dr. J. W. Clark, Liberal, Missouri; Mrs. Louisa J. Barker, Kansas City, Missouri ; Mrs. Elizabeth Marsh, a resident of Indiana; Mrs. Lucy A. Gutridge, deceased, was a resident of Montrose, where he died in 1900; Wesley, who is tilling the home place east of Montrose; Mrs. I. J. Marsh, living in Bear Creek township; Charles M., subject of this review; Mrs. Lillian Covey, Appleton City, Missouri.

After receiving such education as was afforded by the district schools in the vicinity of his home, Mr. Clark attended the Academy at Butler, Missouri. For a period of two years he taught school and then engaged in the mercantile business at Montrose, a vocation in which he was profitably engaged for over twenty years. In 1913 he entered the Farmers and Merchants Bank as cashier. His work as cashier of this bank is marked by efficiency, courtesy of demeanor and a desire to attend to the wants of the patrons of the bank in the most painstaking and obliging manner.

On November 12, 1893, Charles M. Clark and Miss Vina Campbell were united in marriage. Mrs. Vina Clark was born in Bates County, Missouri, a daughter of John Campbell an old settler of that county. The children born of this union are as follows: Constance E., a teacher in the Windsor High School, is a graduate of the Montrose High School, and holds a state teacher's certificate from the Warrensburg State Normal School; Ralph C, born in April, 1896, a soldier in the National Army who enlisted as a member of Supply Company, 137th Infantry, in April,

1917, and is now the regimental supply sergeant at Camp Doniphan, and who prior to his enlistment, was with the International Harvester Company at Hutchinson, Kansas, left for the front in France April 13,

The Republican party has always had the allegiance and support of Mr. Clark and he served four years as postmaster of Montrose under Presidents Roosevelt and Taft. He is a member of the Baptist Church and is frateraally affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 408, Montrose, Missouri.

Robert H. Dugan. - The life story of Robert H. Dugan, Union veteran and president of the Montrose Savings Bank, is an interesting one which borders upon the romantic in many instances, especially during his youthful days when he was obsessed with the idea of joining the Union forces. Mr. Dugan began his career in Henry County as a farm hand and secured his first job with J. D. Brown, south of Montrose. Upon arriving at Germantown, he learned that Mr. Brown was a former Illinois man, and he hastened to the Brown place, remarking in later years, that it was the only place he ever worked where a man could get breakfast, dinner and two suppers after working hours. Mr. Brown is fond of telling their mutual friends that "Bob Dugan is one of my boys; who got his start while working for me."

Robert H. Dugan was born in Bureau County, Illinois, January 27, 1844, and is the son of Thomas and Pyrena (Ellis) Dugan, natives of County Down, Ireland, and Virginia, respectively. Thomas Dugan was born in 1809 and died in 1849. He was reared to young manhood in Ireland and crossed the ocean to America, locating in Illinois, where he was married to Pyrena Ellis (born 1830, died September 9, 1902). Mrs. Pyrena Dugan was the daughter of Virginia parents. Thomas Dugan died in Grundy County, Illinois. Mrs. Dugan spent her last days at the home of her son, Robert, in Henry County. There were but two children in the family, a brother of Robert H., dying in his youth.

Four times after the breaking out of the conflict between the North and the South, Robei't Dugan tried to join the Union forces, running away from home and joining the army against the wishes of his mother and the home folks. He was three times sworn into the service, and twice he was compelled to return home on account of being under the required age for enlistment. At last, in June, 1864, he realized his heart's desire and having enlisted at Morris, Grundy County, Illinois, in June, 1864, he was mustered into the service as a member of Company H, 138th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served for six months. He saw service in Kansas and Missouri on provost duty, mostly. After his honorable discharge from the service he returned to his old home in Grundy County and remained there until 1868, when in March of that year he came to Henry County. Sometime after coming to this county he bought eighty acres of land located two and a half miles northeast of Montrose. This land cost $7 an acre and Mr. Dugan had a cash capital of $700. In 1869 he erected a cabin on the place and broke up the ground with an ox-team, having driven through from Illinois in the fall of 1868. He spent the spring and summer of that year working on the J. D. Brown farm as previously stated. Mr. Dugan increased his holdings to 175 acres in his home place upon which he made his home until 1900. He accumulated a total of 300 acres and made a profitable business of buying and selling farm land in Henry County. He owns eighty acres in Oklahoma and has given farms to each of his children, to the extent of from forty to 120 acres. He gave his home farm to his sons. Mr. Dugan owns considerable town property in Montrose. He owns a large brick business block, a hotel, and has a handsome brick residence which sets in a park which Mr. Dugan purchased and laid out fronting the railway depot. He erected the City Hotel and operated it for one year. Mr. Dugan is one of the principal organizers and is president of the Montrose Savings Bank.

On February 2, 1871, Robert H. Dugan and Clara Miller, were united in marriage. Mrs. Clara Dugan was born in 1852 and departed this life on April 6, 1909. She was a daughter of James Miller, a pioneer of Henry County. James M. Miller, father of Mrs. Clara Dugan, was a veteran of the Mexican War who enlisted with Illinois troops at Paris, Illinois. He came to Henry county in the fifties and made a permanent settlement in the vicinity of Montrose. Eleven children were born of this marriage: Mrs. Cora Dunlap, living five miles southeast of Montrose; James, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Mrs. May Kelland, Montrose, Missouri; Mrs. Mary Burnaugh, Lebanon, Laclede County, Missouri; Mrs. Ida Pumphrey, Paola, Kansas ; Mrs. Margaret Warner, Paola, Kansas ; Mrs. Beulah Petty, who died at Paola, Kansas ; Thomas, a farmer located three miles southwest of Montrose; and Edward, a farmer living four miles southwest of Montrose; William, residing six miles northwest of Appleton City, Missouri.

In politics, Mr. Dugan has always been a Republican. For many years he has been a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic Post, Appleton City, Missouri. Personally, Mr. Dugan is a kindly, intelligent citizen of the old school whose last days are being spent in peace and comfort in the city which he has seen grow from its very inception and in which he has been such an important factor in upbuilding.

H. J. Reiling, manager of the Farmers Elevator and Supply Company, Montrose, Missouri, was bom in Deepwater township, December 26, 1866, and is the son of Henry and Gertrude (Schistler) Reiling, natives of Germany who emigrated to America with their respective parents when young and located in Henry County, Missouri where both were reared to maturity. Henry Reiling died in Oklahoma in 1913, at the age of seventy-two years. Gertrude Reiling died in 1914, at the age of seventy years. They were parents of three children: H. J., the eldest of the family; John Reiling, died in Oklahoma; William lives on the old home place of the family in Deepwater township.

Reared upon the home place of the family near Germantown, in Deepwater township, H. J. Reiling naturally took up the vocation of his forebearers and became a farmer. He rented the old Cordell farm in 1893, and in 1911 he purchased this tract of 169 acres located southwest of Montrose. He had this place nicely improved but suffered a severe loss from fire in 1914. He immediately rebuilt and continued to cultivate and improve his place until taking charge of the Farmers Elevator and Supply Company, upon its organization in 1915. Mr. Reiling is given thorough satisfaction in the performance of the duties of his position.

Mr. Reiling was manned in 1895 to Otillie Conrad, who was born at Benedict, Iowa, the daughter of Ben Conrad, who resides in Nebraska. Eight children have been born of this marriage, six of whom are living, namely: William, Charles, Henry, August, Ida, and Edward, all of whom are at home with their parents.

Mr. Reiling is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Montrose. He is universally recognized as an excellent citizen who believes in progressive methods of business and continual civic betterment and is always ready and willing to put his shoulder to the wheel and assist in moving things onward.

The Montrose Farmers' Elevator and Supply Company was organized in June, 1915, with a capital of $6,000 all of which was subscribed by farmers in the vicinity of Montrose. The principal organizers were men of the highest standing in the community. The concern purchased an elevator which had been operated by other parties for some time previous.

The grain elevator has a capacity of 6,000 bushels. During 1917 there were shipped from this elevator over 150,000 bushels of grain. The stock of this concern is divided among 123 stockholders. When the Company was first organized, H. J. Reiling was elected president; H. J. Hueser was elected vice-president; J. E. Dugan became secretary; John Swaters, Jr., served as treasurer. The present officers are: Lewis Tilling, president; P. J. Meyer, vice-president; John Swaters, Jr., secretary and treasurer; H. J. Reiling, manager.

General Lafayette Park, a prominent farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, is a native of Tennessee. He was born in Cock County April 9, 1860, a son of John A. and Catharine M. (Garrison) Park, natives of Tennessee. The father died April 11, 1910, and the mother now resides with her son. John A. Park was a Confederate veteran. He enlisted in his native State and served in behalf of the lost cause until the fall of Vicksburg. At the close of the war he went to Indiana, where he remained until 1868. He then came to Missouri, settling near Lees Summit, in Jackson County, where he was engaged in farming until 1889. He then came to Henry County and he and his son. General Lafayette, purchased a farm in Big Creek township, which the latter now owns. Mr. Park's farm consists of nine hundred forty acres and is one of the well improved and valuable farms of Henry County. Mr. Park carries on general farming and stock raising. He is known as an extensive stockman and raises about one hundred head of cattle annually. He has shipped as many as four cars of hogs in one year.

March 10, 1888, G. L. Park was united in marriage to Miss Anna Lou Gault of Jackson County, Missouri. She is a daughter of James and Rebecca J. (Flanery) Gault. Mrs. Park's mother died in 1908, and her father is now living retired and spends much of his time with his children. To General Lafayette Park and wife have been born the following children : James, farmer and stockman in Big Creek township, who makes a specialty of breeding Percheron horses and mammoth jacks; Anna Belle, married Roy Albin, Big Creek township; Lafayette, farmer and stockman in Big Creek township, and Mabel, married Ralph Butcher, Big Creek township.

Mr. Park is a member of the Masonic Lodge and is a director in the Farmers Bank of Chilhowee, Missouri. He is a progressive and enterprising citizen and always stands ready to co-operate with and support any enterprise for the betterment or upbuilding of his township and county.

Henry B. Hecker - Hecker Brothers. - The late Henry B. Hecker, father of George J. and Joseph B. Hecker, well-known druggists of Montrose, was one of the best-known and useful citizens of the second generation of a Henry County pioneer family. He was born in Germany in 1839 and his father emigrated from Germany and settled in the Germantown neighborhood as early as 1854. Henry B. Hecker was reared to young manhood upon his father's farm and at the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted with the Union forces. He served for three years and three months as a member of the Sixth Missouri Cavalry Regiment and fought battles in Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana, and was in the thick of the campaign which resulted in General Price's Confederate Army being driven out of Missouri. After the war he settled down to farming and for some years served as postmaster of Germantown. During President Arthur's administration, he was appointed postmaster of Montrose and served for three years. He then established a drug business in Montrose which he conducted successfully for some years.

Henry H. Hecker was married to Margaret C. Teeman, who was born in Germantown in 1850, and departed this life on February 25, 1918, at Boulder, Colorado, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Lizzie Lennertz. The following children were bom to Henry B. and Margaret Hecker: George J.; Lizzie, wife of H. A. Lennertz, Boulder, Colorado; Henry S., North Platte, Nebraska; Joseph B.; John P., Sterling, Colorado; Edward A., Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Florence Brushwiller, Virginia, Minnesota. Mr. Hecker died in 1892.

Mr. Hecker was a member of the Catholic Church. He was a Republican in politics and prominent in the affairs of his party in Henry County. Being a well-educated man, he was a pronounced leader in his home community and county. He was well versed in legal lore and legal practices and his services in drawing up legal documents for the people of the countryside were constantly in demand. Mr. Hecker served for some years as justice of the peace in Deepwater township. He also ably filled the important post of county assessor of Henry County and was a very useful citizen in many ways. His life was so well spent that his place in the history of his home county is forever assured.

George J. Hecker was born in Germantown in 1869 and received his early education in the Montrose public schools. He graduated from the Kansas City School of Pharmacy in 1891 and then took charge of his father's drug business until 1903. In that year he went to St. Louis and served as a drug clerk until his return to Montrose in 1915. In June of 1915 the firm of Hecker Brothers, druggists, was established in Montrose.

Hecker Brothers succeeded the firm of Hecker and Hinkle which was established in 1912 by Joseph B. Hecker and John P. Hinkle. Mr. Hinkle was succeeded by George J. Hecker as the senior member of the firm. Hecker Brothers have a flourishing business, conducted in one of the most modern and handsomely furnished drug stores in western Missouri. The stock carried is the latest and best of drugs and druggist's sundries and the firm is in a prosperous condition.

In politics, George J. Hecker is a Republican. He is a member of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Catholic, at Montrose, and is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Columbus.

Mr. George J. Hecker was united in marriage with Miss Julia Hess in 1900. Mrs. Julia Hecker is a daughter of Clement Hess. Mr. and Mrs. Hecker have three children: Clementine, Pauline, and Georgia.

Joseph B. Hecker, junior member of the firm of Hecker Brothers, was born at Germantown, in 1881 and received his primary education in the public schools of Montrose. He graduated from the Kansas City School of Pharmacy in 1908. He practically worked his way through the school of pharmacy and worked as a drug clerk in Kansas City for nine and a half years. He returned to Montrose in 1912 and engaged in business with Mr. Hinkle in 1912 as previously stated.

In 1903, Joseph B. Hecker and Maude Hinkle were united in marriage and this union has been blessed with three sons: Bernard E., Joseph B., Jr., and William H. Mrs. Maude Hecker is a daughter of Isaac and Henriett J. (Adkins) Hinkle, both deceased, the latter of whom died at her home in Montrose, April 11, 1918. Mr. Hecker is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Catholic Church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus.

James McNeal Miller, M. D. - Thirty-two years in the successful practice of his profession in Henry County, has marked the career of Dr. James McNeal Miller of Montrose as a medical practitioner of high rank and one of the leading physicians of Henry County, being among the oldest of the medical practitioners of the county in point of years of service in the healing art. Twenty-five years of his practice has been spent among the people of Montrose and vicinity where he is universally esteemed and highly regarded.

Dr. Miller is a native son of Henry County and is a member of one of the oldest pioneer families of the county. He was born on a farm in Fairview township, near Deepwater, November 6, 1863, and is the son of James McNeal (born April, 1822 ; died December 24, 1906) and Artemesia (Elledge) Miller (born 1822; died 1872). James McNeal Miller, the elder, was born in Kentucky, a son of James Miller who was descended from an old pioneer American family of Scotch ancestry. Artemesia (Elledge) Miller was also born in Kentucky and was the daughter of Isaac Elledge. Both the Miller and the Elledge families removed from Kentucky to Edgar County, Illinois in the thirties and there the parents of Doctor Miller were reared to maturity and were married.

James McNeal Miller was a veteran of the Mexican War and both he and his father were prominent in the affairs of Henry County. His father served as county clerk of Edgar County, Illinois, and he, himself, served as clerk of the Circuit Court in that county when Abraham Lincoln practiced law in that county. He came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1856 and settled upon a tract of land in Fairview township which he improved into a good farm. During the Civil War he served as a member of the Missouri State Militia in Capt. William Weaver's company. In 1868, he sold his place in Fairview township and settled upon a farm northeast of Montrose in Bear Creek township, where Mrs. Miller died. Later, the elder Miller moved to La Due and then came to Montrose, where he lived retired until his death.

Ten children were born to James McNeal and Artemesia Miller: Bruce, deceased; Clara, deceased wife of Robert H. Dugan, Montrose, Missouri; Frank, Peon Prairie, Washington; Ellen, Montrose, Missouri; Isaac, deceased; Marie L., a teacher in the Clinton Public schools; Susan, wife of George F. Vansant, Bear Creek township; Dr. James M. Miller; Dr. Sherman Miller, former physician at Mayesburg, Bates County, Missouri, killed in an automobile accident in 1916; John S., Pasadena, California.

James McNeal Miller, the elder, was prominent in the political and civic affairs of Henry County for many years. He served as collector of taxes for Henry and St. Clair Counties shortly after the Civil War and filled the office of sheriff of the county during the reconstruction days. He was a Free Mason.

souri, where he remained for seven years. In 1893 he came to Montrose and has successfully practiced medicine in this city and vicinity for over twenty-five years. In every advance made in the science of medicine he has consistently endeavored to keep abreast of the times and has studied continuously since his first graduation. He graduated from the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis in the spring of 1895 and pursued a postgraduate course at the Marion Sims-Beaumont College at St. Louis in 1903 and 1904.

Doctor Miller was married in 1895 to Miss Minnie B. Mayes of Bates County, Missouri, a daughter of J. M. Mayes, of the prominent family of that name in Bates County.

The Republican party has always had the consistent support of Doctor Miller and he has served as mayor of Montrose for seven years. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Professionally he is connected with the Henry County Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association and the American Medical Association.

William Wilson. - The ranks of the Old Guard are fast thinning. It is only here and there can be found one of the sturdy veterans of either side of the great civil conflict which convulsed the Nation from 1861 to 1865. The wounds of that great struggle have long since healed and it is a matter of history that the fighting men of both armies never at any time had any great personal animosity towards one another. The feeling which existed between the North and the South for so many years was kept alive by politicians of both sides of the imaginary line which divided the two sections. In these trying days when the grandsons of these old veterans are far across the Atlantic giving up their life's blood that the principles for which their ancestors fought and died might be kept alive on this earth forever, the ties which bind the people of this great Nation together are stronger than ever before. William Wilson, or "Major" Wilson as he is affectionately called in Montrose, Missouri, is one of the last survivors of the old guard which fought in defense of the Union.

William Wilson was born in Licking County, Ohio, in 1840 and is the son of John A. and Agnes (Curry) Wilson, natives of Pennsylvania, and Licking County, Ohio, respectively. His mother was of Scotch descent. John A. Wilson was born in 1815 and died in 1880. Mrs. Agnes Wilson was born in 1817 and died in 1886. They came to Henry County in 1867 and settled upon a fai-m located three and a half miles northeast of Montrose. John A. and Agnes Wilson were parents of ten children: William, subject of this sketch; Stewart, Omer C, John W., Mary E., Eoline and Clara, deceased; Thomas, resides at Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Monroe lives at Cincinnati, Ohio; James resides in Montana.

In 1861 William Wilson enlisted in Company A, 76th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for nearly four years with his command, being honorably discharged from the service on July 15, 1865. He served with the 15th Army Corps under Generals John A. Logan and Sherman. He participated in the great battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, and was in the campaign through Georgia, marched from Atlanta to the sea with General Sherman's Army, and thence through the Carolinas to Richmond, after the surrender of General Lee. He marched in the Grand Review of the victorious Union troops through the streets of Washington and then returned home. He accompanied his parents to Henry County and engaged in farming in this county until 1885, when he located in Montrose and engaged in the retail meat and butchering business. He followed this for several years and was also employed in a local grocery store for some time. Of late years Mr. Wilson has been living in peaceful and well earned retirement.

William Wilson has been twice married. His first marriage occurred in 1868 with Eliza E. Stubblefield, who died in 1890. His second marriage took place in 1893 with Miss Emma Tuttle. Mr. Wilson is a Republican in politics and has served four years as city assessor of Montrose. He also filled the post of city collector of taxes. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and is aflftliated fraternally with the Grand Army of the Republic Post at Appleton City, Missouri.

Jacob Rhoads, pioneer settler and president of the Bank of Deepwater, was born in Edgar County, Illinois, July 30, 1847, the son of Alney McLean (born January 11, 1820, died February 12, 1892) and Susan (Dixon) Rhoads (born 1820, died December 24, 1859). Alney McLean Rhoads was born in Kentucky and was the son of Jacob Rhoads, who migrated to Edgar County, Illinois, in 1823 and was a pioneer settler of that county. The parents of Jacob Rhoads were reared and married in Edgar County, Illinois, and resided there until 1854. In that year A. M. Rhoads, wife and six children, gathered up their belongings and drove in wagons across the intervening country to find a new home in Henry County, Missouri. They arrived at their destination after a three weeks' trip and located upon a tract of land situated on the banks of Deepwater

Creek, two and a half miles north of the town of Deepwater. Mr. Rhoads built a cabin of poles, having a stick chimney and a dirt floor to supplement the tent which had sheltered them of nights when making the long trip from Illinois. This rude structure served as the family domicile while the father was cutting and hewing logs to build a cabin. This log cabin was erected in September of that year and served as the home of the family until 1868, when a frame house was built. There were nine children in the Rhoads family, only two of whom are living: Jacob, subject of this review, and Mrs. Elizabeth Moyer, Deepwater, Missouri.

During the Civil War Jacob Rhoads enlisted for service in the Missouri State troops but was exempted from active service on account of the fact that he was deficient in the sight of one eye. He was married in 1868 and began life for himself upon his father's farm. The family estate was left to him and his sister at the time of his father's death, but Mr. Rhoads had accumulated land on his own account. He has sold some of his land but is the owner of a total of 870 acres in Henry County. Mr. Rhoads has been active during his entire life and only of recent years has he turned over the actual cultivation of his farm land to his sons. Every day he makes a trip to the farm and does some Avork about the place. He believes that it is better to wear out in the harness than to rust out as so many retired fanners do when they retire to a home in town.

In 1868 Jacob Rhoads and Augusta V. Flecker were united in marriage. Mrs. Augusta Rhoads was born in Augusta County, Virginia, June 2, 1852, the daughter of John W. (born April 15, 1817, died March 25, 1877) and Anna Eliza (Craum) Flecker (born March 15, 1820, died December 19, 1889). The Flecker family came to Henry County in 1866 and settled upon a farm which had been owned by A. M. Rhoads previously. To them were born ten children, eight of whom were reared to maturity : David B. Flecker, Oklahoma; Edward J., North Dakota; John A., Oklahoma; James F., Deepwater, Missouri; A. H., Lynchburg, Virginia; Mrs. Mary Frances Pomeroy, Colorado; Margaret Ann, wife of James Moyer, Clinton township; Mrs. Augusta V. Rhoads.

The children boi-n to Jacob and Augusta Rhoads are as follow: Rosa Lee, John Alva, Dessie Ellen, Virginia Ann, Jettie Celeste, Harlan Francis, Mrs. Rosa Lee Sprouse lived in North Dakota, is deceased and left three children: Mrs. Edith Florence Wintsell, who has two children, Marie Wintsell and Nora; Earl Jacob Frouse, now in France serving in the National Army. Mrs. Bertha Virginia Lovell has one son, Eugene Merrill

Lovell. John Alva Rhoads lives on the old home place, married Maude Haines and has nine children: Mrs. Cecil Audrey (Smith), Florence Floyd, Clifford Clyde, Carmel, Fay, Jacob Carroll, Fay Carmel, Ruby Lee, Raymond, Lois Virginia and Woodrow Wilson. Mrs. Dessie Allen De Armond, Deepwater, has two children: Goldie Fern and Dimple Violet. Mrs. Virginia Ann Woods lives in Deepwater. Mrs. Jettie Celeste Wilson, Deepwater, has one child, Leota. Harlan Francis, living on the Rhoads home place, married Gladys Holmes and has three children: Cleo Jacob, Opal Francis and Glenn, born July 4, 1918.

Mr Rhoads is a pronounced Democrat who has taken a more or less active part in political matters during his entire life. He was the first treasurer elected in Fairview township under the township organization and has filled several township offices. He is a director and president ot the bank of Deepwater and assisted in the organization of this bank. He and Mrs. Rhoads are members of the Baptist Church.

It is a matter of history that A. M. Rhoads rebuilt Jackson s old water mill after the war and for a time it was operated by his oldest son until it passed into other hands. Jacob Rhoads recalls that the grinding of meal for the family table was done by tread-mill operated by cow power " This mill was located southeast of Calhoun and he took com there to be ground and remained all night. There was a "still" near this grist mill and the distiller would trade whiskey for corn, more whiskey being given in exchange for yellow com than for white corn.

In point of years of residence Jacob Rhoads is probably the oldest living pioneer settler in the southern part of Henry County. Despite his age he is energetic, well preserved and keeps well informed of daily happenings, taking a great interest in everything that is going on in the world He believes that a man, especially a man who is getting old, should keep alive his interest in everything which happens and wiU thus prolong his life and live much more happily than otherwise. When a man begins to lose interest in things mundane, he is ready for the grave. In this case Jacob Rhoads has a long time yet to live and enjoy life.

Alfred H. Allison, proprietor of a well improved farm of 128.64 acres in Walker township, was bom in Bates County, Missouri, December 18. 1868, and is the son of Otho C. and Zerelda (Baker) Allison the former a native of Illinois and the latter was born in Missouri. Otho C. Allison was bom in 1845 and died in 1915. Mrs. Zerelda Allison was bom m

1850. Otho C. Allison came to Missouri in 1865 and drove the stage from Sedalia to Butler, Missouri, for a period of two years. He then settled on the old Baker farm in Bates County, where he resided until 1870 and then located in Henry County. He improved the farm which his son, Alfred H., now owns and lived thereon until his death. He was father of two sons and two daughters: Alfred H., Rolla C, lives in Kentucky; Mrs. Roberta G. Williams, Walker township; Mrs. Cornelia Wilcoxen, lives near Lucas, Missouri.

Alfred H. Allison was educated in the district schools of Walker township and has always followed the vocation of farmer and stockman. In 1903 he purchased a farm of eighty acres and in 1915 he traded his farm for the home place.

Mr. Allison was married in February, 1893, to Miss Bertie McClenny, the daughter of Frank McClenny, of Henry County. The following children were bom to this marriage: Mrs. Cornelia Caldwell, Walker township; Mrs. Carrie Hart, Walker township; Ruby, at home with her parents; two children died in infancy; Hazel, the last born, died at the age of one year and eight months.

Mr. Allison is a Republican and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a good, industrious citizen, who tills his acreage so as to get the maximum yield of crops and is ever ready to assist a worthy local enterprise to the best of his ability.

Michael Kedigh, a Union veteran of the Civil War and an early settler of Henry County, is a well known farmer of White Oak township. Mr. Kedigh was born in Germany December 11, 1840, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Moring) Kedigh, both natives of Germany. The Kedigh family emigrated to America in 1845, when Michael was five years old. They settled in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, whei'e both the parents spent the remainder of their lives. The father died the same year that he settled in Ohio and the mother died in 1870. They were the parents of the following children: Michael, the subject of this sketch; George, who also served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and died at the age of seventy; Mrs. Caroline Ricker, spent her life in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and is now deceased.

Michael Kedigh received such schooling as the rural districts afforded in Ohio in his boyhood days, but as he says himself, his principal education was learning to work. Just about the time that he reached manhood the Civil War broke out and in November, 1861, he enlisted in Com- pany E, 80th Regiment Ohio Infantry for a period of two years, and at the expiration of his term of service he re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer and served throughout the war, being mustered out of service at Little Rock, Arkansas, in August, 1865. He was a good soldier and made an unimpeachable war record of which he and his descendants for genei-ations to come may be justly proud. He participated in many important battles and campaigns of great historic moment. He was with Sherman on his memorable march to the sea and took part in the battles of luka, Corinth, Jackson, Missionary Ridge and numerous other battles and engagements of lesser importance. He participated in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C. At the close of the war Mr. Kedigh returned to his Ohio home and bought a small farm which he tilled for a short time.

In 1870 Mr. Kedigh came to Missouri and located in White Oak township, Henry County. The first eighty acres which he purchased here was at a cost of twenty dollars per acre. He has added more land and now owns one hundred ninety acres, which is well improved and is one of the valuable farms of Henry County, and Mr. Kedigh is regarded as one of the successful farmers and stockmen of the county.

Mr. Kedigh has been twice married. In 1868 he was married to Miss Christena Baker in Ohio. She died in 1880, leaving the following children: Caroline, now the wife of C. D. Martin; Jacob, who was engaged in the mercantile business at Ballard, Missouri, for some time and is now a successful farmer and stockman of Bates County, Missouri; John, who resides at Mountain Home, Arkansas. Mr. Kedigh's second wife, to whom he was married in 1881, bore the maiden name of Margaret Henny. She is a daughter of Benedict and Martha (Zehnder) Henny of Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Benedict Henny was a native of Switzerland and came to America and settled in Ohio in 1854. In 1881 he came to White Oak township, Henry County, and died here November 6, 1893. His wife died in Ohio in 1880. They were the parents of the following children: Benedict, deceased; John, lives at Delmar, Missoui'i; Rudy, deceased; Christian, Delmar, Missoui'i; William, White Oak township; Margaret, the wife of Michael Kedigh, the subject of this sketch; Edward; Mrs. Emma Goodman, Urich, Missouri; Mrs. Elizabeth Fraley, Bogue, Kansas, and Mrs. Mary Little, Walker township, and Mrs. Sarah Graff, deceased.

To Michael Kedigh and Margaret (Henny) Kedigh have been born three children, as follow: Benedict Edward, married Edith Scanlon and lives in Bogard township; Omer Frances, married Inez Hargrave and lives on the home place, and George William, married Lorena McDaniel and lives in White Oak township.

Mr. Kedigh is a public spirited and progressive citizen and takes a keen interest in all matters for the public good. He took an active interest in the reclamation project in Henry County and for seven years served as a director of the drainage district board. He is one of Henry County's most valued citizens.

Sol Kahn. - Since the year 1871 the name of Kahn has been favorably known in Henry County. Sol Kahn has the distinction of being the oldest merchant in the southern part of Henry County and of Montrose. The name of Kahn is recognized as an honorable one and the goods sold from the Kahn stores are dependable. An extensive business has been built up, a large department store growing from a very small beginning in Montrose in 1871.

Mr. Kahn was born in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Fuerstenthum- Birkenfeld, Germany, June 4, 1844, and was the son of Moses and Eva Kahn, who belonged to the Jewish fraternity. Moses Kahn was a dealer in horses in his native land, and both he and his wife, Eva, lived all of their lives in Germany.

Sol Kahn received a good education in the schools of his native land and sei'ved three years as an apprentice to a dry goods merchant who for a consideration of $100 a year allowed him to work in the business and learn as much as he possibly could during his apprenticeship. He then spent two years in a dry goods store at Brussels, Belgium, after which he was employed in a store at Treves, Germany, for four years. By means of thrift and the strictest economy, Mr. Kahn saved up a few hundred dollars and immigrated to America in 1869. His first two years in this country were profitably spent in a dry goods store at Macon, Missouri. In 1871 he came to Montrose, Missouri, and in partnership with Louis Baum he purchased the store which had been founded and operated by Kahn & David. The firm was conducted under the name of Kahn & Baum for two years, at the end of which time Mr. Kahn purchased his partner's interest and operated the business under his own name.

The Kahn stores progressed from year to year and grew from an ordinary sized store, carrying a stock of goods worth about $4,000, to a large department store carrying a stock of goods ranging in value from $30,000 to $40,000. The large Kahn building was erected in 1884 so as to afford ample quarters for the growing business. In 1904 an addition to the building became necessary and the business of the Kahn stores now occupies two floors of a large brick structure measuring 85x80 feet. Of late years Mr. Kahn has retired from the active management of the stores and the Kahn Commercial Company was organized in 1908 to operate the business. While Mr. Kahn holds a substantial interest in the business, his son, Carl Kahn, is president of the company, Ed Rock is secretary and Max Kahn, another son, is manager.

Mr. Kahn was married in 1876 to Miss Kate Marsh, born in Illinois, a daughter of George Marsh, one of the early settlers of Henry County. The children born of this marriage are as follow: Max and Carl, who are successful merchants.

Mr. Kahn is a Democrat but has never taken an active part in political matters. He adheres to the faith of his fathers, and is of the Jewish persuasion in religious matters.

Bernard Menker. - In the neighborhood of Germantown, in Deepwater township, Henry County, Missouri, is the oldest German settlement in the western part of Missouri. This settlement began nearly ninety years ago when the Schmedding brothers came to this locality and built the first cabins in this part of the county. A Catholic Church was built and a congregation formed as early as 1834, and its growth was steady as the years passed. Many excellent German families crossed the ocean to become a part of the new settlement which gradually spread to all parts of the southwest part of Henry County. The people living in this part of the county are prosperous, happy and loyal to the land of their adoption and all have excellent homes and good families who take a just pride in the accomplishments of their ancestors, who came to this country to find homes for themselves and their kinfolks. Bernard Menker, who resides on the old Weisman place, which was originally the Barney Hagebock place, the first proprietor of the farm having erected a splendid stone house as early as 1860, he having come from Osage County to Henry County in 1839, is one of the oldest and best known of the old settlers of the Germantown neighborhood.

Mr. Menker was born in Germany May 26, 1843, and immigrated to America in 1861. He was accompanied across the ocean by his sister, Francesca Menker, who later became the wife of Franz Weisman. Mr. Menker joined his relatives in Henry County and has been a continuous resident of the Germantown neighborhood with the exception of one year spent in Germany in 1880, when he returned to the land of his birth for an extended visit. He is a Democrat in politics and is a member of the Germantown Catholic Church. Mr. Menker makes his home with his nieces, the Misses Josephine, EHzabeth and Louisa Weisman, on the Weisman homestead. He is owner of 240 acres of land.

The late Franz Weisman was born in Germany in 1835 and died at his home near Germantown in 1907. He immigrated to America in 1866 and settled at Germantown, Henry County, where he was married to Francesca Menker in August, 1866. Mrs. Francesca Weisman was born in 1836 and died in 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Weisman made their home continuously in the large stone house which now shelters their three daughters and Mr. Menker. They accumulated 290 acres of land, 170 acres of which adjoins Germantown and 120 acres is in another tract.

There were eight children born to Franz and Francesca Weisman as follows : Mrs. Francesca Tilling, Walker township ; Frank Weisman ; Mrs. Anna Schmedding; Elizabeth, Josephine, Louisa, Mrs. Mary Goth. Francesca married Louis Tilling and is mother of seven children: Anna, wife of Frank Bettels of Deepwater township, mother of one child, Ida ; Jennie, Joseph, Minnie, Fred, Louis and Clara; Frank Weisman married Katie Bettels and died in 1905, leaving two children, Henry and Bernard, who reside with their mother in Walker township; Anna is the widow of Barney Schmedding and resides near the Bates County line with her four children: Monica, Frank, Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth, Josephine and Louisa reside on the home place. Mary is the wife of Edward Goth, who resides on a farm near Montrose. Mr. and Mrs. Goth have four children : Orpha, Bertha, Omer and Ethel. All of the family are members of the Catholic Church.

Joseph Schmedding. - To the Schmedding family or to the ancestors of the present members of the family in Deepwater township belongs the honor of having established the Germantown settlement and of having erected the first Catholic Church in Henry County or in western Missouri. Gerhardt, Theodore, Herman, Bernard and John Schmedding, brothers who were all born in Germany, immigrated to this country from their native land in the early twenties, and John Schmedding came to Missouri from New Orleans and purchased a farm of eighty acres in Warren County. About 1832 he joined his brothers at the new settlement in the northern part of Deepwater township in Henry County and his name has ever since been linked with the early history of this section of the county.

Deepwater township, April 20, 1852, and is the son of John and Ehzabeth (Walbert) Schmedding, both of whom were natives of Germany. John Schmedding was born in 1800 and died in 1864. Mrs. Ehzabeth Schmedding departed this life in 1876. After coming to Henry County in 1832 John Schmedding entered free Government land, and here reared his family. There were three children in the family of John and Elizabeth Schmedding: Joseph, subject of this sketch; J. Bernard, Montrose, Missouri; and Henry, deceased.

There were no free schools in this section of Henry County before the Civil War time and the education of Joseph Schmedding was of necessity limited. He has always been a farmer and he came into possession of the old home place of his parents. Mr. Schmedding formerly owned 400 acres of land but has recently sold some of his land and now owns a tract of 170 acres upon which he erected a new frame house in 1912. In 1886 the marriage of Joseph Schmedding and Mary Myers took place. Mrs. Mary Schmedding was born August 28, 1865, in Bates County, Missouri, and is the daughter of Morris and Mary (Schmedding) Myers, the former of whom was a native of Germany and the latter was born in the Germantown neighborhood, the daughter of Barney Schmedding, pioneer. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Schmedding have been born eight children: Catharine, Nebraska City, Nebraska; Mrs. Lavina Stewart, Walthill, Thurston County, Nebraska; Henry, Winnebago, Nebraska; Clements B., a merchant in Germantown; Charles, Winnebago, Nebraska; Mrs. Anna Cook, Henry County; Bernardina and George (twins), at home; Mrs. Lavina Stewart has four children: Angeline, Josephine, Marion and Nina Stewart. Henry Schmedding married Mary Rotert and has two children: Maurice and Dennis. Charles Schmedding married Therese Rotert and has one child, Emmet. Mrs. Anna Cook has one child, Leroy Cook.

Mr Schmedding was formerly a Democrat but of late years has espoused the cause of the Republican party. He and his family are members of the Germantown Catholic Church and he is fraternally affiliated with the Woodmen of the World.

Rev. William Hovestadt. - The story of the work and struggles of the Immaculate Conception Parish of Montrose would be incomplete without some mention of the man who has made it what it is. Fr. William Hovestadt was born in Germany of a German father and an Alsatian mother. He received his early education in the primary schools of his native land. His classical education was received at one of the recognized Gemnasiums

After his ordination, Father Hovestadt came to America to seek, like many other immigrants, that broader field of labor and the better opportunities for good that seemed to be lacking at home. He and his congregation, though of German origin or of German descent, refuse to be known except as Americans. They are fully conscious of the blessings of liberty and they fully appreciate the opportunities offered in this land where "rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom's day." They are doing their bit for Old Glory. In their church hangs a service flag displaying thirty-four stars - the boys who have gone to fight the battle of freedom.

In 1872, when the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad was being built through Henry County, Missouri, the town of Montrose was laid out and the typical American railroad village soon began to rise on the site of the new town. About this time thrifty German farmers, hearing of the beautiful, mild climate of Missouri and of the fertile plains and prairies around Montrose, began to come down from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and the less favored parts of Missouri, and Montrose and the adjacent parts of Henry County began to assume the appearance of a German settlement. Most, if not all, of the new arrivals were Catholics who quickly realized that it behooved them, if they were to abide permanently in this new country, to procure some means of attending to their religious need and obligations. The first step was to procure the services of a priest.

In 1879 Reverend Father Daly was appointed to look after the spiritual welfare of the Catholics of Montrose. In the same year a little frame church 20x26 feet was erected. A few of the pioneers, who helped in the good work, are still alive to tell the story of their early struggles: Joseph, Frank and Jacob Wagner, the Witmer and Lenartz families. The new parish grew so rapidly that within a few years a necessary addition of twenty-four feet was made to the church. In 1888 the Fathers of the Precious Blood were placed in charge of the parish by Bishop Hogan. So rapidly did the parish grow that a new and larger church was built in 1887 by Rev. Edward Jacobs, then pastor.

In 1903 Rev. William Hovestadt was appointed pastor of Montrose. Thei'e were in the parish at that time fifty-three Catholic families. The church property, on which was a debt of $1,087, consisted of the original frame church and the new brick one erected in 1887. The newly appointed pastor proceeded at once to place things generally on a more desirable basis. A collection amounting to $1,113 was taken up and the debt was wiped out. A school was the next urgent need of the parish. The old public school property was acquired at a cost of $1,500. An additional expenditure of $650 sufficed to render the building suitable to the needs of seventy-five children. The rectory at that time was also renovated at a cost of $800.

While these improvements were under way and perhaps because of them the Catholics in and around Montrose were steadily increasing in numbers and the need for more accommodation began to be apparent. The subject of a new church was broached, but the people, many of whom were new arrivals to whom Henry County was as yet but a land ox promise, were not inclined to assume new burdens and responsibilities. In 1909 the pastor felt that the time was ripe to begin preparing for the greater things of the future. He established a sinking fund to which old and young made generous monthly contributions till at the end of three years the amount in the treasury was nearly $5,000. The congregation now numbered ninety-three families.

In the autumn of 1911 plans and specifications having been made and approved, ground was broken for a new church. June 11 was to be a "red letter" day in the Catholic annals of Montrose. It was the day appointed for the laying of the cornerstone by Right Reverend Bishop Lillis of Kansas City. It was to have been a gala day. All was set for a big celebration but the weatherman tried to spoil everything by sending thunder and lightning and rain. But it would take more than the worst that the weatherman could do to dampen the ardor of those who had set themselves to build a house to the Lord. The congregation turned out en masse and the cornerstone was laid. The new church, a masterpiece in Romanesque, was dedicated in the fall of that year. When completed it had cost $32,000. The beautiful high altar, the gift of the school children, cost $1,250. Only God knows the numberless acts of self-sacrifice and of self-denial that the little ones of His house made to present Him with their gift.

The public school buildings of our American cities are, for the most part, the pride of the communities they serve. What is true of the best equipped public school in the State is true also of St. Mary's Parochial school of Montrose. It is built of brick and Carthage stone. The basement is fitted up as a gymnasium and play hall for the pupils in inclement weather. The first story is divided into four large class rooms, while the third story is divided into a large theater and rest rooms. The building was erected at a cost of $17,000. There are in school 160 children taught by four Sisters of St. Benedict. The course of studies embraces the usual grade course to which will be added soon the high school and commercial courses. This school, like all similar Catholic institutions, is supported by the Catholic people of the parish, who do their full duty towards the public schools by paying their share of the public school taxes.

At present a beautiful rectory is under process of construction at Montrose. It is the last item in the splendid parochial "plant" and when finished will be in harmony with the rest of the magnificent work done by the Rev. William Hovestadt.

James B. Gillilan. - The Gillilan family is one of the oldest and most honored of the pioneer families of Henry County whose members have been active and influential in the civic affairs of this county for nearly sixty years. They are descended from old American stock whose ancestors have been noted for their patriotism and each generation of this family have been pioneers in some undeveloped part of this country.

The beginning of the family in America is traced to the Gillilans of North Carolina of whom James Gillilan, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a member. He emmigrated from Ireland in 1750. This James Gillilan was a soldier of the Revolution and was a pioneer of Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The history of Greenbrier County states that he cut the first roadway up the Kanawha River Valley and drove the first wagon into Greenbrier County over one hundred years ago. James Gillilan was a native of the North Ireland country and was of Scotch-Irish descent, his forebears having emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland many, many years ago to escape religious persecution.

George Gillilan, grandfather of James B. Gillilan,, was born and reared in Greenbrier County, Virginia, and served in the War of 1812. His son. Judge James T. Gillilan, father of J. B. Gillilan, was born in 1829 and died May 9, 1877. He was born and reared in Greenbrier County, Virginia, and migrated to Henry County in 1856. He purchased a tract of land in Bogard township which he developed into a splendid farm, became well-to-do and was prominently identified with Henry County affairs. During the Civil War the family removed to Davis County, Missouri, and remained in that county for three years, returning to the home in Henry

County after conditions had returned to normal. Mr. Gillilan was elected to the office of county judge in 1874 and served one term as presiding judge of the County Court. He was married to Amanda E. McClung, who bore him children as follows: Harvey, died in youth; Mrs. Mary A. Wright, lives in California; James B., subject of this review; Amanda E., or "Bettie," wife of W. R. Menafee, resides in White Oak township; George William is deceased, and John Franklin is deceased.

Mrs. Amanda E. (McClung) Gillilan was born in 1832 and departed this life in 1868. She was a daughter of Bollar McClung, a native of Scotland, whose mother was an English lady named Bollar. He married a woman of French descent whose ancestors came to America from France early in the eighteenth century.

James B. Gillilan was born April 11, 1861, in Bogard township. He received his education in the Urich district school and has always been a farmer and stockman. He left home in 1884 and located in Davis County, Missouri, where he became owner of a farm of one hundred fifty acres, which was a part of the family estate in that county. In February of 1902 he sold his holdings in Davis County and purchased land in Walker township, which he improved to a considerable extent. Fire destroyed his residence and some other buildings in 1907 and he has since rebuilt the residence and barns, the Gillilan home place now being one of the most attractive and best improved farms in the county. Mr. Gillilan is owner of five hundi'ed eighty-five acres of land, five hundred five acres of which are located in Henry County and eighty acres are situated just over the line in Bates County, Missouri.

April 25, 1883, James B. Gillilan and Miss Mary A. Nelson were united in marriage and to this marriage have been born children as follow: James W., a successful farmer in White Oak township, married Iva Dale; Lee A., born February 12, 1888, died at Clinton, Missouri, May 2, 1918, and who at the time of his death was serving as deputy county recorder and was a candidate for the office of recorder, married Etta Gregg, left one child; Virgil P., a farmer in Walker township, married Orpha Hunt; Gilbert B., a farmer just over the line in Bates County, married Stella Horton; Mrs. Robina Gregg, whose husband is engaged in the hardware and implement business at Urich, Missouri; Mrs. Mamie Calvird, Davis township; three sons died in infancy.

Nelson. The parents of W. C. Nelson were natives of Tennessee and were pioneers in Christian County, Illinois. W. C. Nelson and Jane Finney were married in 1860 and resided in south Missouri during the Civil War period. In 1863 they located in Sangamon County, Illinois, and then returned to Christian County in 1864, removing fi'om there to Henry County in 1879. Mr. Nelson made a permanent settlement on a farm in White Oak township three miles southeast of Urich. Their children were as follow: T. L. Nelson, was an attorney, deceased; John W., lives in Kansas; Mildred C, deceased; Maggie, died in youth, and Mrs. J. B. Gillilan.

The Democratic party has always had the steadfast allegiance of Mr. Gillilan, who is a pronounced Bryan Democrat of the old school. He has served as member of the Walker township board of trustees. He and Mrs. Gillilan are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Well informed upon most matters of general interest, intelligent, a constant reader, a true American citizen of the highest and best type, progressive to a considerable degree, James B. Gillilan is one of the leading citizens of Henry County who is universally respected and admired by all who know him.

Dr. Richard B. Fewel, actively engaged in the practice of medicine at Montrose, Missouri, was born in Johnson County, Missouri, May 9, 1857, a son of Richard Benjamin and Nancy Ann (Avery) Fewel. The father was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina, and the mother in Tennessee. Her father built the iirst house in Henry County that had glass windows, bringing the glass with him from Tennessee. The first County Court of Henry County was held at his home, and he was otherwise prominently connected with many pioneer incidents. Richard Benjamin Fewel was a stockman, dealing in fine horses, mules and cattle. He came to Missouri in the fall of 1839, settling in what is now Henry County, in company with his parents. Here he was reared and eventually became a land owner, engaging in business as a dealer in fine stock. He met with success in his undertaking and remained upon the home farm until his death, February 11, 1880. His wife passed away some years later in Johnson County.