Henry County, Missouri - Biographical sketches, 1919 (part 8 of 17)

Jonathan Blevins, a progressive farmer and stockman of White Oak township, is a Henry County pioneer. He was born in Honey Creek township, which was then known as Davis township, October 13, 1855, and is a son of Robert P. and Nancy (Crockett) Blevins. R. P. Blevins was born in what is now White Oak township, near the Clary place, December 23, 1833, and was the first white child born in what is now Henry County. He spent his life in this county and died near Marvin in Honey Creek township, March 6, 1889. He was a son of Ezekiel Blevins, a Kentuckian and one of the first settlers of Henry County. He died in Johnson County during the Civil War, about 1864. Nancy (Crockett) Blevins, mother of Jonathan Blevins, was a native of Indiana and came here with her parents when she was a child in arms. She died March 6, 1898. To R. P. and Nancy (Crockett) Blevins were born the following children :

Jonathan Blevins And Wife

Jonathan, the subject of this sketch; Mary Theresa, now the wife of Judge W. B. Collins, one of the county judges of Henry County, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; Sarah J. married John B. Cornett, Big Creek township ; Nancy Ann, married Robert DeArmond, Southwest City, Missouri; Julia Bell, married C. A. Davis, Independence, Missouri; Nora L. married Richard Hall, Clinton, Missouri ; Irene married James T. Collins and is now deceased; Lottie married John Shaver, Sydney, Montana.

Jonathan Blevins was reared and educated in Davis township, and remained at home with his parents until he was about twenty-five years of age. Farming and stock raising has been his chief occupation and he purchased his present place in 1898. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land and carries on general farming and stock raising, and has met with uniform success in his undertakings.

On January 15, 1880, Mr. Blevins was united in marriage with Miss Clara Belle Toalson, a daughter of George W. and Margaret E. (Cowden) Toalson, both now deceased. They were early settlers in White Oak township, locating there in 1867. Their children were: George, deceased; Clara Belle, wife of Jonathan Blevins, the subject of this sketch ; Mattie, married Nichols Long, Hartwell, Missouri; Oscar B., Bartlesville, Oklahoma ; and Omar A., Urich, Missouri.

To Mr. and Mrs. Blevins has been born one daughter, Isa Merle. She married Pari Ewing, and is now deceased. She left one son, Fern W. Ewing, who now resides with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Blevins.

The Blevins family experienced the real pioneer life of Henry County. When R. P. Blevins was a baby his mother left him in the cabin while she was at work in the garden. The cabin was only partially roofed. As the mother was at work she discovered a panther endeavoring to climb to the roof of the cabin by reaching through between the logs of the cabin, which had not yet been chinked, and reach the baby, who was lying on a pallet on the floor. She hastened to the cabin and as she reached the inside of the cabin the panther was still endeavoring to reach the baby with its claws. The mother struck one of the extending claws of the animal with a hoe that she still held in her hands and with a single blow severed the claws of the panther. Later the panther was tracked from the house and killed, by Ezekiel Blevins and the neighbors.

Jonathan Blevins is truly a representative of a sturdy pioneer family of Henry County and is typical of that class of men who have made Henry County what is is today.

Alfred G. Dillon, farmer and stockman, proprietor of a splendid farm of 280 acres in Windsor township, Henry County, is a member of one of the old pioneer families of this county. He was born November 12, 1856, on a farm in Tebo township and is the son of Thomas A. and Mildred A. (Askins) Dillon, who were parents of two children: Alfred G., subject of this sketch; and Lucinda M., deceased, wife of W. F. Burchman.

Thomas A. Dillon was bom in Ireland in 1824 and died in 1901. He was the son of Edward and Margaret (Hardy) Dillon, natives of Dublin, Ireland, who emigrated to America in 1831, and first settled in Cooper County, Missouri. By means of incredible labor, Edward Dillon cleared a farm from the timber of Cooper County and was one of the earliest pioneer settlers in that county. He died at Sarcoxie, Missouri. His wife died in Cedar County, Missouri, at the age of eighty-seven years. Thomas- A. Dillon came to Henry County in 1853 and established a groceiy and general store at Calhoun, which he conducted for a while, sold out and operated a store in Clinton until some time in 1854, when he engaged permanently in farming and stock raising in Tebo township. Mr. Dillon became owner of 600 acres of good land in Tebo township, all of which he accumulated solely by his own efforts, beginning his active career without a dollar of his own. He was married in 1854 to Mildred A. Askins, who was bom in Rappahannock County, Virginia, in 1831 and departed this life in 1898. She was the daughter of Rev. Alfred and Lucinda (Jones) Askins, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Alfred Askins was a minister of the Primitive Baptist Church.

Alfred G. Dillon attended the district schools and also the Calhoun schools for two terms. He began his active career as farmer and stockman in 1878, when he purchased 240 acres of land three miles west of Windsor. He traded this tract for Windsor property in 1880 and then traded the Windsor property for his present farm in Windsor township. Mr. Dillon has improved his land to a considerable extent and raises red polled cattle for the market. In addition to his farming interests he is a stockholder in both banks at Calhoun, Missouri.

On November 14, 1882, Alfred G. Dillon and Miss Mollie F. Sappington were united in marriage. Mrs. Mollie F. Dillon was born July 13, 1861, in Windsor township, the daughter of Squire Boone and Jemima (Jermison) Sappington, well-known residents of Windsor township, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. One child has been born to

The Democratic party has always had the support of Mr. Dillon. He and Mrs. Dillon are members of the Calhoun Baptist Church, and he is a member of the Mystic Workers.

Edmond B. Grinstead, an enterprising and progressive farmer and horse breeder of Windsor township, and proprietor of 250 acres of well improved farm lands, was born in Pettis County, Missouri, August 14, 1856. He is the son of George W. and Susan V. (Sacra) Grinstead, who were parents of nine sons and a daughter, all of whom were reared to maturity.

George W. Grinstead was born in Kentucky in 1832 and was the son of pioneers and tillers of the soil for generations past. He crossed the plains in 1849 and spent several months in the gold fields of California. Upon his return he began farming near Georgetown, Pettis County, Missouri, and later purchased a farm in Johnson County. He ceased active farming operations in 1890 and removed to Windsor, where his death occurred in 1911. Mrs. Susan V. (Sacra) Grinstead was born in Kentucky and attended school with the late Senator George Vest, of Missouri, who will always be remembered for his classical address at the trial of the famous dog case in Warrensburg. Mrs. Grinstead died in 1915. To George W. and Susan V. Grinstead wei'e born children as follow: Mollie, deceased wife of Joseph M. Jones; Edmond B., subject of this sketch ; Samuel, Sedalia, Missouri ; William, a farmer of Pettis County, Missouri; Charles, a resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma; Hallie, deceased; Robert, Government income tax collector, Kansas City, Missouri; Ernest, in the employ of the Woodard Clothing Company, Windsor, Missouri; Thomas, Denver, Colorado ; Sacra L., county clerk of Henry County, Clinton, Missouri; William, Pettis County, Missouri.

Edmond B. Grinstead was reared to the life of a tiller of the soil, and he began his independent career upon attaining his majority. Early in life, he became interested in live stock and became an expert in this branch of animal husbandry, specializing in mules and has dealt in mules icr many years. For a period of ten years he made a business of buying rnd shipping live stock, while carrying on his farming operations. He purchix. od his present home farm of 250 acres in 1901 and settled there in 1903. The Grinstead home place is nicely improved and is noted for the fine saddle horses bred by the owner. "Pearl Wilson," a splendid

Mr. Grinstead was married in February, 1901, to Miss Leona Cooper, who was bom in Johnson County, Missouri, near the Henry-Johnson County line. She is the daughter of Henry and Nancy (Stiles) Cooper, the former of whom is deceased. Two children have been born to this union: Genevieve and Gayle. Henry Cooper was born in Trigg County, Kentucky, in 1818, a son of David Cooper, a native of Kentucky, who immigrated to Johnson County in 1832 and settled on the Cooper home place. He was father of seventeen children. David Cooper lived to the great age of eighty years. Henry Cooper died in 1910 at the age of ninety-two years. Nancy (Stiles) Cooper was born in Kentucky in 1834 and accompanied her father, David Stiles, to Missouri in 1840. To Henry and Nancy Cooper were born ten children: Elizabeth, deceased; David, on a farm in Johnson County; George, Warrensburg, Missouri; Jefferson D., Johnson County; Mrs. Margaret Muir, Windsor, Missouri; Lucy (Wilcox), Windsor; William, Windsor; John, on the Cooper home place, Johnson County; Frank, died in infancy. The Cooper place is widely known as the "Windsor Springs," noted for its fine water and was a picnic resort.

Mr. Grinstead is a -Democrat but has devoted very little time to political matters during his busy life. He is a member of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, and has been active in other matters of a civic nature, aside from his farming. He assisted in the organization of the Windsor Telephone Company and it was through his influence that the line was extended through to Leesville. Few people were sanguine of his enterprise, most folks prophesying that the venture would result in a financial failure. Mr. Grinstead persisted, however, and his energy and optimism regarding the project eventually won out, and the Windsor Telephone Company is now an excellent paying institution which gives good service to hundreds of patrons.

Hon. William Henry Davis. - The late William Henry Davis, journalist, farmer and legislator, was a useful and worthy citizen who did well his allotted work in behalf of his fellow citizens during the long period of his residence in Henry County. The community in which he made his home for many years was benefited; his county and State were the better for his existence. It is meet, therefore, that this memorial biography be presented in the annals of the great county which he assisted in developing.

William Henry Davis was born in Allegheny County, Maryland, November 23, 1841. He was the son of John and Alice (Robinette) Davis, who with their family came from Maryland to Lexington, Missouri, in 1852, John Davis, Jr., father of William H. Davis, a prominent attorney, was a grandson of John Davis, a civil engineer, who planned and supervised the water systems at Philadelphia, built the Cumberland Pike and also planned the east wing of the Capitol building at Washington, D. C.

W. H. Davis was reared to young manhood at Lexington, Missouri, and received his higher education at the Masonic College of that city. He learned the printer's trade at Lexington in the office of the "Lexington Union" and was editor of a newspaper at the age of eighteen years. After the Civil War he located in Warrensburg, Missouri, and established the "Journal," now the "Journal-Democrat." In 1869 he removed to Clinton, Henry County, and purchased the "Henry County Democrat" from the La Due Brothers, and conducted this paper until 1874, when he sold a half interest to William T. Thornton, afterwards appointed Governor of New Mexico by President Cleveland. In 1876 Mr. Davis sold this paper to Lingle and Mitchell. He then returned to Warrensburg and published the "Journal-Democrat" for a year or so, and then located in Marshall, Missouri, where he published the "Saline County Democrat" for two years. In 1878 he removed to his farm in Windsor township and became a successful farmer and stock raiser, following this vocation for the remainder of his life.

In 1878 Mr. Davis was married in Pettis County, Missouri, to Miss Alice Garton, who bore him the following children: Walter G., an attorney-at-law, Windsor; J. Piper, a civil engineer, assistant State highway engineer, Jefferson City; and W. Dalton, farming on the Davis home place. Mrs. Alice (Garton) Davis was born September 16, 1854, in Pettis County, the daughter of Edwin S. and Angeline (Hill) Garton, natives of Virginia, who were pioneers in Pettis County, locating in that county in 1839 and entering a tract of Government land on which they created a homestead. Mr. Garton became a large land owner and was well-to-do. He died in 1893 at the age of seventy-four years. Mrs. Garton died in 1861, aged fifty-one years. Mrs. Davis is the youngest of five children born to her parents, the others being: Marcellus, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Monroe, deceased ; Mortimer, Colorado ; Mrs. Maryetta De Jarnett, Pettis County, near Sedalia. The Davis homestead in Windsor township consists of over 300 acres of fertile land well improved. This farm is now

Mr. Davis was a Democrat and took a prominent and active part in political affairs in Henry County for many years. He was twice elected to represent Henry County in the State Legislature and served as a member of the thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh General Assemblies with distinction and honor to himself and his constituents. He was a member of the Methodist Church, South, for over twenty-five years and served on the board of trustees of his church. In the death of Mr. Davis the community and Henry County lost one of its best and most loyal citizens, a man who stood high in the estimation of the people, of rugged honesty, strict integrity, of fine attainments; he was a man whom friends universally respected and admired. He was a devoted husband and father, kind and loving. Henry County was bettered by having William Henry Davis as a citizen.

Oglesby Love Young. - Longevity and large families are the most striking attributes of the Young family of Missouri. Besides being a son of parents to whom were born a large family of thirteen children, Oglesby Love Young, retired farmer of Windsor, Missouri, has also reared a large family of eleven children. In addition to this he has accumulated a splendid farm and sufficient of this world's goods to maintain him in peace and comfort for the remainder of his days.

Oglesby Love Young was born in St. Charles County, Missouri, September 17, 1835, the son of Oglesby and Jane (Love) Young, to whom were born thirteen children, only three of whom survive. Oglesby Young was a native of Virginia and settled in St. Charles County, Missouri, as early as 1833. His fai-m was located fifty-two miles west of St. Louis and he spent the remainder of his days on the place which he developed from a wilderness, dying at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. Mrs. Jane Young was born in Kentucky and died in 1861 at the age of fortyeight years.

O. L. Young, subject of this sketch, began his active career as an ox driver on the construction of the Wabash railway through St. Charles County. For several months he was employed in railroad construction work. He enlisted in 1862 as a member of the Missouri State Militia and saw six months' active service within the borders of the State. He then followed farming in St. Charles County until 1881, when he came to Henry County and settled on bottom land three and a half miles southwest of

Windsor in Windsor township. Mr. Young purchased a total of 360 acres upon which he placed splendid improvements. In 1914 he purchased another farm and now owns 273 acres of well improved land. During his active years, Mr. Young was an extensive corn and tobacco grower and raised considerable live stock. December 20, 1917, Mr. Young purchased a home in Windsor where he is now residing.

March 4, 1862, 0. L. Young and Charlotte V. Bird were united in marriage. Mrs. Charlotte Young was born in St. Charles County, Missouri June 2, 1840. She and Mr. Young were sweethearts from their boyhood and girlhood days. She was reared along the right of way of the Wabash railroad and could hear her future husband yelling at the oxen he was driving when he was doing his first gainful labor on his own account. Twelve children have blessed this marriage: Fannie, widow of Robert Finley, Sedalia, Missouri ; Mary Nettie, wife of George Huston, Colorado; Arthur E., Prior, Oklahoma; Marshall, Globe, Arizona; William, Salt Lake, Utah ; John L., living on the Young home place in Windsor township; Sallie, wife of Clint Nicholas, Stevens, Missouri; Mattie, wife of Doctor Butler, a veterinarian at Montrose, Missouri; Anna, wife of Joseph G. Burchman, Windsor township ; Stella, wife of Joseph Martin, Stevens, Missouri; Charlie, Globe, Arizona; one child died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Young have a total of thirty-five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren .

Mr. Young has long been allied with the Democratic party, but during his life time he has taken no more than a good citizen's interest in political matters. He and Mrs. Young are members of the Methodist Church and are looked upon as two of the most highly respected citizens of Windsor and Henry County.

George B. Carle, proprietor of a well improved farm of 126 acres in sections 4 and 5 of Windsor township, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, May 30, 1840, and is the son of Moses and Eliza (Bunker) Carle, who were parents of six children.

Moses Carle was born and reared in Pennsylvania and after his marriage in Fayette County he moved to Ohio and lived in that State until 1872. He then made the long trip westward and settled in Henry County near Windsor, where he spent the remainder of his days in profitable farming and stock raising. He was bom December 7, 1814, and died June 7, 1894. Of the six children born to Moses and Eliza Carle, George B. Carle is the eldest, the others being: Sarah, deceased;

Minerva, who is keeping house for her brother on the home place; Mrs. Mary F. Neal, deceased; Bertha J., deceased; James A., a farmer near Clinton, Missouri. The late Mrs. Mary F. Neal left two children: Albert, who lives at New Carlisle, Ohio, and Hervey Neal, who is mayor of La Forte, Texas. Mrs. Eliza Carle was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1816, and departed this life January 29, 1899. The home place of the Carles was willed to the five surviving children upon the death of the father. It is now owned by the three survivors and has been under the management of George B. Carle for several yars. The Carles are of Scotch-Irish descent on the paternal side and on the mother's side they are of Welsh ancestry. The Carle farm has recently been sold. May 30, 1918, and Mr. Carle and his sister are now living in Windsor, Missouri.

W. H. Whitlow. - The Whitlow family is one of the oldest of the worthy pioneer families of Henry County and m.embers of this well-known family have lived in this county and taken an active part in its affairs since 1854, when Andrew Whitlow, father of W. H. Whitlow, of this review, left his old home in Kentucky and came to found a new home in the wilderness which was then Henry County. He entered Government land and lived on his farm created with his own hands until death claimed him.

Andrew Whitlow was born in Kentucky, April 10, 1813, and died at his home in Henry County April 3, 1901. He came to Henry County in 1854, entered land, built a log cabin, which was later replaced by a good residence, reared a splendid family and did well his part as a pioneer in developing this county. He was married to Mary Jane Hall, a native of Kentucky, born in 1828, and departed this life December 20, 1900. To them were born children as follow: Cornelius, deceased; Judy Belle, wife of J. R. Burris, living in Texas; Mrs. Matilda Ann Woods, Oregon; Mrs. Narcissus Cole, a resident of Oregon ; W. H., of this sketch ; Mrs. Alice Rudd, a widow, living in New Mexico; Mrs. Laura Hutchinson, lives in Henry county; Mrs. Etta Ballard, Washington.

Andrew K. Whitlow's first wife was a Miss Harvey, who bore him three children: R. W., of Boonville, Cooper County, Missouri; Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, Cooper County, Missouri; and P. W. Whitlow, deceased, died in Texas while on a visit.

1885 he purchased eighty acres of land from his father and began farming. He now owns 280 acres. The home farm of the Whitlows, where he was born January 7, 1860, is situated one mile south and a half mile west of Coal. Mr. Whitlow moved to his present home farm in 1886, erected the pretty cottage home which graces the premises, and has had the satisfaction of placing all of the improvements on his farm. He has prospered as the result of diligence, energetic accomplishment, and good financial management and is now rated as one of the most substantial and best-known residents of his township, where he has long been one of the leaders.

In 1886 Mr. Whitlow was married to Miss Amanda Davis, who was born in Illinois, February 22, 1864, the daughter of Frank E. Davis, who was twice married, the stepmother of Mrs. Whitlow being Piney M. Davis. The Davis family came to Henry County in 1869. Both parents of Mrs. Whitelow died in this county. Her brother. Wells R. Davis, resides on the home place.

The children born to W. H. and Amanda Whitlow are: Olney Hall Whitlow, born January 25, 1890; and Davis King, a bright lad, born December 17, 1905.

Mr. and Mrs. Whitlow are members of the Good Hope Baptist Church and take an active interest in religious affairs, Mr. Whitlow having served in the capacity of treasurer of this church for several years. He is a Democrat and is considered one of the best citizens of Henry County, intelligent, sociable and well informed on public affairs. He takes a keen interest in his home county.

Frank M. Buckner, successful farmer and stockman of Windsor township, proprietor of 102 acres of well improved land, was born on a farm near Eldorado Springs, Missouri, January 16, 1856. He is the son of Dr. Ansel and Elizabeth (Foster) Buckner, who were parents of four children: Frank M., subject of this sketch; Carrie, wife of D. R. Elliott, Green Ridge, Missouri ; Anna, wife of James Hellons, Pettis County, Missouri; Jasper B., Windsor, Missouri.

Dr. Ansel Buckner was born on a pioneer farm near Lexington, Missouri, in 1828. He was the son of Berry Buckner, a pioneer settler of Jackson County, Missouri, after whom the town of Buckner was named. Ansel Buckner became a physician and practiced medicine before the outbreak of the Civil War. He served as a surgeon in the Confederate army during the struggle between the North and the South and after the close of the war also engaged in farming pursuits. He was killed by lightning in 1873. Elizabeth (Foster) Buckner was bom near Greencastle, Indiana, in 1833, and died in 1914.

After the close of the Civil War Ansel Buckner settled in Pettis County, and here in this county Frank M. Buckner was reared to young manhood. He came to Henry County in 1878 and bought a farm located south of Windsor which he improved and sold in 1902. He then purchased his present fami of 102 acres and has made nice improvements thereon. Mr. Buckner is engaged in general farming and the breeding of Duroc Jersey hogs for the markets.

Mr. Buckner was married in 1877 to Miss Ellen Clayton, v;ho was born in Illinois, the daughter of Ira B. Clayton, a native of Kentucky, who migrated to Pettis County, Missouri, in 1874. Ten children have been born to Frank W. and Ellen Buckner, as follow: Myrtle, wife of W. M. Nixon, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Earl and James, farmers in Howard County, Missouri ; Carrie, wife of W. A. Christian, Pettis County, Missouri ; Rose, wife of S. A. Pearce, Tebo township, Henry County ; Flossie, wife of H. H. Gilliland, South Windsor, Henry County; Hattie, wife of R. C. Funk, living on a farm near Calhoun, Missouri; Blanche, wife of John Gordon, Montrose, Missouri; Everett and Margaret, at home with their parents.

The Democratic party has always had the support of Mr. Buckner. He and Mrs. Buckner are members of the Christian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.

George H. Monday. - It is a mooted question as to which is really the better, a large farm of hundreds of acres, requiring a great deal of help and much work and worry upon the part of the owner, or the small, well improved farm which can, if necessary, be cultivated by the owner himself, without aid other than modern farm machinery. We are inclined to the belief that the agriculturist who owns the small or moderately sized farm during this present era of decided scarcity of labor of all kinds is in a much better position than the large land owner, dependent upon high priced farm labor. The Mundy farm of seventy-five acres in Windsor township is an ideal farm as regards size, location and improvements. The family of George H. Munday, the owner, have all the comforts of the city home right on the farm. The Munday home is a

George H. Munday was bom in Deer Creek township, Henry County, nine miles northeast of Clinton, January 9, 1870. He is the son of Benjamin F. and Mary (East) Munday, who were parents of seven children.

Benjamin F. Munday was bom in Hendricks County, Indiana, in April, 1843. He came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1866 and after a period of residence on his wife's farm he purchased a place of his own which he cultivated until his retirement to a home in Calhoun in 1912. Mr. Munday was married January 12, 1869, to Mary East, who bore him seven children, namely: George H., subject of this sketch; Lizzie, deceased ; L. S., a farmer in Deer Creek township ; Emma, wife of H. Des- Combes, Smithton, Missouri; Frank, living on the old home place in Deer Creek township; James C, living in Springfield township; A. B., living near Alberta, Henry County, Missouri. The mother of these children was bom in Henry County, Missouri, the daughter of George and Mary (GofF) East, who were pioneer settlers of Henry County.

George H. Munday was reared on the home farm in Deer Creek township and after receiving such education as was afforded by the district school of his neighborhood he pursued a higher course in Professor Lamkin's Academy, where he was a schoolmate of Uel W. Lamkin, editor of this work. Soon after attaining his majority he began doing for himself and remained at home until his marriage in 1898. In 1900 he purchased his present home place of seventy-five acres in Windsor township and moved there in January, 1901. This is one of the best improved places In Henry County.

October 6, 1897, George H. Munday and Miss Iva L. Garrett were united in marriage. One child has blessed this marriage: Lewis G. Munday, bom August 3, 1903. Mrs. Iva L. (Garrett) Munday was born in Johnson County, Missouri, the daughter of W. A. and Alice (Walker) Garrett, the former of whom was born in Johnson County, Missouri, and the latter of whom was a native of North Carolina. William A. Garrett, her father, was born October 11, 1848, and is now residing on the farm which was settled by the Garretts in Johnson County in 1843. His wife, Alice (Walker) Garrett, was born December 10, 1851, and departed this life January 14, 1913. There were six children in the Garrett family, as follow: Mrs. Iva L. Munday; Mrs. Mary Edna Powell, Johnson County; Daisy Cornelia, at home; Mrs. Linnie Adria Kavanaugh, Kansas City;

Eobert Lewis, at home, and Mrs. Nellie Washington Reynolds, Johnson County. The great-grandfather of William A. Garrett, named Thomas Simms, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, the ancestry having been traced so that Mrs. Munday could become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Mr. Munday is a Democrat. Both Mr. and Mrs. Munday are intelligent, well read people who keep abreast of the times and are progressive in their views. They have many warm and steadfast friends throughout their home community.

James W. Edmondson, farmer and thoroughbred live stock breeder of Windsor township, Henry County, was born April 2, 1848, in Covington County, Kentucky. He is the son of Job and Mary (McDonald) Edmondson, to whom fifteen children were born, as follow: James W., subject of this sketch; Cordelia, wife of James Denning, Shawnee County, Oklahoma; Grant, living near Lewis Station, Henry County; Richard, a miner of the Bowen Mines, Windsor, Missouri; Charles, a miner, Windsor, Missouri ; Lucretia, wife of Henry Goodrich, Henry County ; Andrew, Pittsburg, Kansas. The other seven children of the family are deceased.

Job Edmondson was born at Georgetown, Kentucky, January 27, 1826, and died in 1912. He was the youngest and last survivor of eleven children born to his parents. The Edmondson family came to Henry County in 1849 and settled on a farm just across the road from where James W. now resides. A log cabin was the first home of the famJly and here the large family was reared until 1860. Job Edmondson enlisted for service in Company C, 7th Missouri Cavalry under General Phillips and George Crittendon and served until his discharge on account of sick disability in 1864. He contracted measles and his eyesight became badly affected so that he was practically incapacitated during the remaining years of his life. He died at Calhoun, Missouri. Mrs. Mary Edmondson was born in Covington County, Kentucky, May 22, 1833, and died in 1887, June 22. Job Edmondson and Mary McDonald were married in 1847.

James W. Edmondson has lived in the neighborhood of his present farm since he was three years of age and has witnessed the gradual development of this entire country from a sparsely settled region to the splendid agricultural and stock raising country which it now is. He purchased his first land from H. P. Paris in 1882, having previously rented the tract for seven years. Mr. Edmondson is owner of eighty acres of land upon which he has placed practically all of the improvements. On

April 2, 1918, he began the breeding of big type Poland China hogs and is specializing in this department of animal husbandry. For the past thirteen years he has been a breeder of Shropshire sheep.

February 11, 1875, Mr. Edmondson was united in marriage with Miss Hannah L. Telliss, who was bom June 30, 1856, on a farm two miles from Leesville, Missouri. She is the daughter of Jonathan and Telitha (Leonard) Telliss, natives of Indiana, who settled in Henry County in the late fifties. Six children have been born to James W. and Hannah L. Edmondson, as follow: Walter W., United States mail carrier at Windsor, Missouri, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; James, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Mrs. Addie Crogsdale, Kansas City, Missouri; John H., Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Ora Carter, Council Bluifs, Iowa; Leonard W., a soldier in the United States Marines.

Mr. Edmondson has always been a stanch Republican. He is affiliated with the Anti Horse Thief Association and is a progressive and enterprising citizen who has the best interest of his home community and county at heart. He is a stockholder of the Peoples Bank of Calhoun, Missouri, and is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at Windsor, Missouri.

Robert M. Funk, owner of a fine farm of 160 acres located in sections 15, 16, 21 and 22 of Windsor township, is a native Missourian, having been born in Pettis County October 25, 1864, on a farm situated five miles west of Green Ridge. He is the son of John and Lucinda (Rogers) Funk, natives of Kentucky.

John Funk was bom in Hardin County, Kentucky, February 28, 1824, and died May 25, 1903. He was married in Kentucky to Lucinda Rogers and came to Missouri as early as 1857, residing on his fai-m in Pettis County until his death. He was the son of Alexander and Sarah (Walters) Funk of Kentucky, who had a family of nine children, John Funk being the ninth child born. To John and Lucinda Funk were born seven children. Mrs. Lizzie Smith; Mrs. Laura Smith; Mrs. Lula Hampton; Robert M; Mrs. Lydia Crose; Shelton and Mrs. Caroline Pickett, a widow. The mother of these children was bom April 27, 18.33, and is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Lula Hampton, Green Ridge, Missouri.

For a period of thirty years Robert M. Funk worked on the home farm of his parents and became owner of seventy acres of land located three miles northeast of Windsor in Pettis County. In 1900 he traded this tract for another farm which he sold in 1911 and came to Henry

County, buying his present farm of 160 acres. The Funk farm is an historic landmark in the county, it having been entered by a Mr. Arbuckle and later known as the Gillilan place for over twenty years.

February 26, 1890, Robert M. Funk and Miss Sarah Parker were united in the bonds of matrimony. Seven children have been bom of this marriage: John, Robert C. and Albert, farmers in Windsor township; Martha L., wife of P. I. Lowery, Windsor township; Laura Ellen, wife of W. Tucker, Windsor township ; Oliver H. and Rex Harold, at home with their parents. Mrs. Sarah (Parker) Funk was born June 5, 1874, on a farm seven miles south of Warsaw, Benton County, Missouri. She is the daughter of Philip and Martha (Eaton) Parker, natives of Tennessee and Benton County, Missouri, respectively. Philip Parker was born on December 19, 1837, and died February 21, 1885. He was prominent in the affairs of Benton County, taught school for a number of years, beginning his teaching career when seventeen years old. He also served as assessor of Benton County. During the Civil War Mr. Parker served as a captain of a company recruited at Warsaw and was wounded at the battle of Lone Jack while fighting on the Union side. Mrs. Martha Parker was born September 19, 1843, and departed this life October 22, 1897.

Mr. Funk and Mrs. Funk are members of the Christian Church and are favorably known as devout and honest people who live according to the teachings of their avowed faith. Mr. Funk is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Anti- Horse Thief Association and is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Windsor.

Fred H. Griefe. - Henry County has many true American citizens of German birth who came to this land of opportunity poor in purse, with no knowledge of the language and customs of the country and have become prosperous and are thoroughly in sympathy with American institutions and American ideals. We doubt very much if throughout the length and breadth of Henry County, where there are hundreds of wellto-do and contented farmer citizens of German birth or ancestrj% there is a single one who is not thoroughly loyal to his adopted country. Fred H. Griefe, large land owner of Springfield township, is one of this large population who left Germany to escape the restrictions which hampered men of his class and kept them ground down to poverty through all of their lives. He has risen in the short space of thirty-eight years from being a common farm hand at a wage of $8.00 per month, to become one of the wealthy and progressive land owners of Henry County and is a citizen of truest worth and integrity.

Fred H. Griefe was born in Lippe-Detmoldt, Germany, July 18, 1862, the son of Fred and Caroline (Tunnermann) Griefe, to whom four children were born: Caroline, widow of G. Scheele, Windsor, Missouri; Henrietta, wife of Christ Uhlenbock, Springfield township; Fred H., subject of this sketch; Henry, a merchant at Windsor, Missouri. The father of these children died in Germany in 1869. Fred H. Griefe was the second of the family to leave his native land, coming here in 1880. He first worked for two years and then sent for his mother and the rest of the family, who joined him in this county. Mrs. Caroline Griefe died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Christ Uhlenbock, in 1897 at the age of seventy-one years.

Mr. Griefe began his career in Henry County as a farm hand at $8.00 per month. For a period of sixteen years he worked as farm laborer, eleven years with one employer. He purchased his first land in 1896, eighty acres in section 11, Springfield township. From this small beginning his large farm has grown, wath the exercise of hard work, economy and good management, to the grand total of 554 acres. The Griefe farm is one of the best improved, most fertile and the best kept places in Henry County. Each year of Mr. Griefe's ownership has added to its value.

In November, 1886, Fred H. Griefe and Miss Catherine Balke ware united in marriage. Mrs. Catherine Griefe was born near Roseland, Springfield township, October 16, 1864, the daughter of John and Mary (Streeby) Balke, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Henry County, both now deceased. To the marriage of Fred H. and Catherine Griefe were born children as follow: John W. and Charley, deceased ; Lelia, at home with her parents.

Mr. Griefe is a Republican. He and Mrs. Griefe attend divine services at the Methodist Church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Anti-Horse Thief Association.

James E. Slack was born in Henry County, Missouri, July 2.3, 1874, and is now engaged in farming in Springfield township. He received his education in the grade schools and the Calhoun High School, from which he was graduated. In 1897 he was married to Edna Finks, who was born in 1875 and is a daughter of Judge Mark F. and Nancy E. (Avery) Finks, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. Mr. and Mrs..

Slack are the parents of seven children, as follow: Martha Irene, Lyman, Helen, Marjorie, Henry, Earl V. and Walter, all of whom are at home with their parents.

James E. Slack has 175 acres in the home farm and 160 acres in Oklahoma. He is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and jacks, specializing in thoroughbred cattle, and is endeavoring to propagate the noted "Casey" breed, being the blood of "Choice Goods," "Young Abbotsburn," etc. "Prince of Tebolaun" and "Carolina" are undefeated as show cattle. He has a herd of twenty head of thoroughbreds, breeding cows and heifers. In politics he is a Democrat and belongs to the Baptist Church. He also belongs to the Free Mason Lodge.

Andrew D. McQueen. - Few pioneer citizens of Henry County have achieved such success as has come to Andrew D. McQueen, Union veteran, and extensive land owner of Leesville township. Nearly fifty years ago Mr. McQueen came to this section of Missouri, poor in a worldly sense, his health depleted in consequence of early hardships and the sufferings undergone through having been an inmate of the terrible Libby Prison, during the Civil War. After locating in Henry County, he soon found his health and has retained it ever since, and in time he found wealth and has lived to see the entire section of western Missouri develap and blossom into a fertile and prosperous community. He has reared one of the largest families in Henry County and has held a place of prominence and leadership in the Leesville community since he first came to this locality in 1869. He is rightly named the "Sage of Leesville."

Andrew D. McQueen was born in Carroll County, Ohio, November 9, 1837, and is the son of Abel and Rebecca (Davis) McQueen, the former of whom was bom in Pennsylvania, and the latter was a native of Virginia. Mr. McQueen was reared in Ohio and served for nearly two years with the Union Army during the Civil War. Mr. McQueen first enlisted in September, 1862 in Company K, 110th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, serving one year in this regiment. At the battle of Winchester he was taken prisoner and placed in Libby Prison, and later was imprisoned in Belle Isle. The sufferings he underwent while a prisoner were terrible and left their marks upon his constitution for several years afterward. He lost forty pounds in forty days. The treatment afforded him and his comrades was terrible in its brutality and so incensed did an Irish prisoner become that the Irishman swore that he would knock down the officer who had a miserable habit of cursing them and beating them without provocation, while making his rounds. The Irishman did so and knocked the officer senseless. Shortly afterwards a company of soldiers filed into the prison with loaded muskets and a demand was made for the name of the prisoner who had assaulted the officer. The prisoners refused to divulge the Irishman's name and no amount of threats could compel them, they being, as Mr. McQueen says, "fearless of death, and even ready to welcome death as a relief from their misery." As a punishment he and his immediate comrades were left without food for two days. In August of 1863 he was exchanged and returned to his command. In October, 1863, he was invalided home, and during the next spring he was married to the sweetheart of his boyhood days. The marriage had been set to take place before the outbreak of the war, but both he and his sweetheart had agreed to postpone the wedding while he served his country. After his marriage in the spring Mr. McQueen again enlisted in Company I, 157th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry for one hundred days service.

While engaged in the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley Mr. Mc- Queen was in Milroy's division, which was surrounded by a part of the Confederate Army and compelled to surrender.

Soon after the close of the Civil War Mr. and Mrs. McQueen moved to western Indiana, where he purchased eighty acres of land. His experience in this section of Indiana, which was largely wooded and marsh land at that time, was not satisfactory and he found that the climate was very unhealthful. For four years he struggled against continued illness and became so thoroughly discouraged that he determined to leave the country and go west. Mr. McQueen trekked through Illinois but found Illinois people also afflicted with malaria and kindred ailments and decided to try Missouri. He traveled over the State and eventually arrived in western Missouri. The excellent health of the settlers in the eastern part of Henry County and the beauty of the surroundings in which they lived pleased him very much and he decided that he had found a permanent abiding place for him and his. He disposed of his land in Indiana and came to Leesville township in 1869. His first investment was in 200 acres of land at a cost of thirteen dollars an acre. For this land he went in debt to the extent of $1,000. He had some money but it was necessary for him to purchase a team, some live stock and tools with which to work. This expenditure ate up all of his slender capital.

Along came the panic of 1873, and for four years he strove in hard lines and had all that he could do to keep the wolf from the door during the lean years. He hauled corn to Clinton, a distance of fourteen miles, for a mere pittance in order to get food with which to feed his family. After the "lean years" Mr. McQueen decided never again to go in debt and to "pay as he went." This resolution he has kept for many years and has prospered as he deserved.

Mr. McQueen taught school in the neighborhood for a number of years while conducting his farming operations with hired help. Mr. McQueen has added 160 acres to his home farm, making 360 acres in this farm. During the years past he has purchased different farms aggregating 340 acres, making a total of 700 acres. His first home in Henry County was a log house of two rooms. He cut the logs, trimmed them and built the cabin himself. In the fall of 1885 he erected his present imposing frame house, which is one of the largest in the county. The upper part of this mansion contained a very large room which Mr. McQueen dedicated to the use of the neighborhood for social doings and meetings. When the residence was finished he sent out word throughout the surrounding country for the young folks of the neighborhood to come to a housewarming and social event. They came and spent an enjoyable evening. At this time he addressed them and informed them that this large room was theirs for all time and would serve as a gathering place for the young people as long as he lived and that the room was dedicated to the people of Leesville neighborhood for innocent social events and that every gathering must be kept within the bounds of propriety. For many years the young folks and even the older people availed themselves of this generosity and sociability and many enjoyable social events were held, the McQueen residence being the mecca of the folks of the surrounding country.

February 18, 1864, Andrew D. McQueen and Miss Sarah E. Tope were united in marriage. To this marriage have been born children as follow: Mrs. Hettie C. Nichols, residing on a farm two miles east of the McQueen place on the county line; Abel E., owner of 330 acres of good land in Benton County, Missouri; Joseph B., a farmer in Leesville township; George F., Leesville township; Rebecca Geneva, deceased; Joshua F., Butte, Montana ; John, living in Colorado, and Milton, at home (twins) ; Mrs. Eva 0. Puckett, Leesville township; Mrs. Sarah Emeline Fife, Parsons, Kansas ; Mary S., her father's housekeeper ; William B., a fanner in

Leesville township; Alonzo H., aged twenty-nine years, at home; one child died in infancy. The mother was born June 7, 1842, in Carroll County, Ohio, the daughter of Joseph and Hettie Tope, natives of Pennsylvania and descendants of Holland Dutch and Irish stock, respectively. Mrs. McQueen departed this life on November 28, 1910. She was a good and faithful helpmeet to her husband and cheered and comforted him in adversity and assisted him materially in achieving to a position of comfort and well being. She was a kind and wise mother to her children, fulfilling her destined mission on earth as only a true and noble woman could.

Mr. McQueen has always been a Repubhcan and served as justice of the peace of Leesville township for twenty years. Being a man of excellent education and well informed he has been one of the most useful citizens of Henry County during his long years of residence here. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When there were many more Union veterans in the neighborhood and before their fast thinning ranks were depleted by the inroads of the "grim reaper," there existed in Leesville a flourishing Grand Army Post. This post was known as Dan McCook Post No. 312 and their meeting place was in the McQueen home in the large room referred to in a preceding paragraph. Mr. Mc- Queen assisted in organizing the Grand Army Post and gave the privileges of the room to the old veterans as long as was desired. Now the ranks of the veterans are so thinned that meetings are not held and each year only a few meet to administer the last rites to the memory of their comrades who have preceded them to the great beyond. Well past four score years. Andrew D. McQueen has so lived his life that he is serenely contented in his old age to live a peaceful and retired life, a patriarch in his own right, respected and highly regarded by all who know him.

Henry Slack, a retired merchant and real estate dealer of Calhoun, Missouri, was born in Linn County, Missouri, January 5, 1843, a son of James C. and Caroline (Humphrey) Slack. James C. Slack was born in Henderson County, Kentucky, in 1815 and in 1817 his parents left their home in that State and came to Boone County, Missouri. In 1838 James Slack moved to Linn County, Missouri, where he farmed until he came to Henry County in 1867. He lived three miles south of Calhoun until his death in 1872. Mrs. Caroline Humphrey Slack was born in Kentucky in 1825 and died in 1910. They were the parents of nine children: John of Tulsa, Oklahoma; William B., died in 1862 while serving in the

Civil War in the Confederate Army; Henry, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary E. Bentley, deceased; Alfred, a carpenter, Calhoun, Missouri; Mrs. Lydia Whitley, deceased; Mrs. Nancy Lucas, Webb City, Missouri; Thomas G., lives one mile northwest of Clinton; Virginia, married C. Ford, Windsor, Missouri.

Henry Slack was reared on the farm and when twenty-one years of age clerked in a general store at Ashland, Nebraska. He was employed in this work until 1867, when he returned to Calhoun, Missouri, v/here he was engaged in farming until 1873. He then purchased a general merchandise stock in Calhoun, Missouri, and continued that business until 1900, when he engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He owns eighty acres of well improved land east of Calhoun and also real estate in Calhoun.

Henry Slack has been twice married. October 1, 1873, he was married to Martha Carter, a native of West Virginia. The following children were born to this union: James E., a sketch of whom follows this article; one died in infancy, and George, a contractor in New York City.

Some years after the death of his first wife Henry Slack was married in 1881 to Betty (Calvert) Gray, who was born in Pettis County in 1856. She was the widow of John Gray and a daughter of Nod Calvert. Two children, Alice and Clifton, were born to this union. Both are de-

Oley Johnson, farmer and stockman, Springfield township, Henry County, is a native of Sweden who came to America and made good in the land of his adoption. Mr. Johnson was born in Hudixwahl, Sweden, March 23, 1848, the son of Jonas and Christina (Pearson) Johnson, who were parents of two sons. The parents of Oley Johnson came to America in 1868 and made a settlement in Cooper County, Missouri, where Jonas Johnson died. His wife, Christina Johnson, died in Springfield township, Henry County, Missouri, May 7, 1901.

When he had attained the age of twenty years, Oley Johnson with his parents and brother decided to come to America in search of a home and fortune. He crossed the ocean and made his way to Pettis County, Missouri, in 1868, there finding employment on the railroad and any honest labor he could obtain. In 1873 he located upon a farm of eightytwo and one-half acres owned by Captain Henry in Springfield township,

Henry County, and has prospered as the years have passed. Dunng that same year he invested his savings in a fine farm of 160 acres in Benton County, Missouri. Mr. Johnson is recognized as one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of his township and is well-to-do.

Mr. Johnson was married December 16, 1903, to Mrs. Maude Johnson, widow of his brother, Perry, who prior to her marriage was Miss Maude Rogers, born in Columbia, Missouri, August 16, 1876, the daughter of Robert C. and Maria (Clay) Rogers. Robert C. Rogers was a native of West Virginia and his wife was born at Carlisle, Kentucky, a daughter of John W. Clay, first cousin of the great statesman, Henry Clay, of Kentucky. Robert C. Rogers was a brick mason by trade and came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1880, locating in section 9 of Springfield township upon an eighty acre farm. In 1892 Maude Rogers and Perry Johnson were married. Perry Johnson was born in Sweden on April 2, 1849, and accompanied his brother Oley to America. He died June 17, 1901, leaving three children: Edgar 0., in the National Army, was married to Lena Bullock June 23, 1918; James Clay, now a soldier in the National Army, fighting in behalf of the free peoples of the world against the military oppression of Germany; Mary Christina Johnson, the only daughter, was married to Logan Taylor July 18, 1918.

Mr. Johnson is a Republican and has served as school director of District No. 7. He is a stockholder in the Windsor and Calhoun Elevator Companies and takes an active and influential part in all civic movements.

Joseph W. Gray. - The Gray family in Henry County is one of the oldest and most distinguished in this section of the State, and was founded here in 1836 when the grandparents of Joseph W. Gray came to Henry County and entered the land where the old Gray homestead is now located and which the subject of this sketch is now cultivating. This old family has also contributed a descendant to the service of the Nation in the great World War, a son of Joseph W. Gray having been the first private soldier from Henry County to die at Camp Doniphan.

Joseph W. Gray was born at Windsor, Missouri, October 15, 1871, the son of Dr. J. W. and Clara E. (Head) Gray, who were parents of six children, as follow: Effie E. Cecil, Springfield township; Dr. Alfred A., a practicing physician, Calhoun, Missouri ; Joseph W., of this review ; Charles V., Hollister, Missouri; Harry P., a veterinarian at Chilhowee, Missouri; Mrs. Clara Bennett, Long Beach, California.

Dr. J. W. Gray was born in Henry County February 20, 1840, the son of Rev. W. A. and Mary (Loftis) Gray, both of whom were born in Kentucky. Rev. W. A. Gray first came to Missouri in 1835 and taught school. In 1836 Rev. W. A. Gray removed with his family to Henry County and entered land in sections 14, 15, 22 and 23, Springfield township. He followed farming during the remainder of his life while preaching as a minister of the Baptist Church. Nine children were born to Rev. W. A. and Mary Gray, of whom Dr. J. W. Gray was the eldest. Doctor Gray was educated in the St. Louis College of Medicine and began the practice of his profession in 1863 near Lincoln, Benton County, Missouri. He located in Windsor in 1865 and practiced in this city for a period of twelve years. He then, in 1876, came to the Gray homestead and practiced his profession while looking after his farming interests, retiring from active practice in 1913. He made his home on the old homestead until his death on June 17, 1918. Mrs. Clara Gray was born March 22, 1845, in Benton County, Missouri, the daughter of Dr. Alfred and Rhoda (Vincent) Head, natives of Virginia. Doctor Head was practicing his profession in Benton County during the Civil War.

Joseph W. Gray received his education in the district school and the Clinton Academy, taught by Professor Lamkin. He began for himself in 1891 and was engaged in farming until 1901. He then went to Montana and spent a year there, after which he purchased a general store at Roseland, Missouri. He conducted this store until 1906 and then sold out. He clerked in the Red Front Dry Goods Store at Clinton until 1907 and was then engaged as traveling salesman with the George W. Perry Rubber Company until 1909. Since 1909 he has been engaged in tilling the home farm of 240 acres.

Mr. Gray was married October 26, 1893, to Miss Ruth A. Phelps, who was born August 1, 1875, in Henry County, Missouri, the daughter of David and Louise (Moore) Phelps, natives of near Belleville, Illinois. The Phelps family came to Johnson County in 1872 and came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1874, and Mr. and Mrs. Phelps now reside in Calhoun. Seven children have been born to Joseph W. and Ruth A. Gray, as follow: Guy P., bom May 19, 1895, and departed this life at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, November 30, 1917, while an enlisted soldier in the service of the National Army, his life being the first to be given by Henry County in defense of the freedom of the world - he died a soldier; Ruth, born January 20, 1900, and died January 28, 1900 ; Joseph, born April 9, 1902; Eugene, bom April 14, 1904; Mary L., born November 17, 1905;

Mr. Gray is a Democrat and has long been prominent in the affairs of his party in Henry County. In 1912 he was elected to the office of township tax collector and served for two years. In 1915 he was elected township assessor, an office which he is now capably filling. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Cooperative Company and is keenly interested in all worthy civic movements. Mr. Gray is a Mason, his father before him having been a charter member of the Windsor Masonic Lodge. He is affiliated with the Modem Woodmen of America. He and Mrs. Gray are members of the Baptist Church.

Christian Uhlenbock, a farmer and stockman of Springfield township, owner of 197.5 acres of splendid farm land in sections 26 and 27, land which he has accumulated and paid for since 1887, is a native of Germany, but a loyal, progressive American citizen whose industry and enterprise is worthy of commendation. Mr. Uhlenbock was bom in Lippe- Detwold, Germany, the son of Christian and Wilhelmina (Hagemann) Uhlenbock, who spent all of their lives in Germany. A younger brother of the subject, Anton Uhlenbock, lives in Springfield township.

Christian Uhlenbock was reared and educated in his native country, followed the trade of brick mason during the summer seasons and in winter followed the trade of butcher. He left Germany in 1882 and came to Henry County, Missouri. During his first two years in this county he worked ,at farm labor and then rented land for three years. In 1887 he bought his present farm of 197.5 acres and has made many substantial improvements on the place. Mr. Uhlenbock is a breeder of high grade Duroc Jersey hogs and Shorthorn cattle. In addition to his farming interests, he is a stockholder of the First National Bank of Windsor, Missouri.

October 25, 1883, Mr. Uhlenbock was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta Griefe, bom July 17, 1858, at Lippe-Detwold, Germany, and came to America in 1882 on the same ship which carried her husband. For further particulars conceming the Griefe family history, the reader is referred to the sketch of Fred Griefe elsewhere in this volume. To Christian and Henrietta Uhlenbock have been bom two children: William Frederick, aged thirty-one years, and Henry Christian, the latter of whom is deceased.

Joseph E. stringer. Union veteran and retired farmer of Leesville township, is one of the old settlers of Henry County who has lived on his fine farm of eighty acres in eastern Leesville township for the past fifty years. He has, during this long period, built up a very pretty country place which is the acme of comfort for his declining years. Mr. Stringer was born near the city of Alton, Madison County, Illinois, April 26, 1842. He is the son of Levi and Louisa (Donnegan) Stringer, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and the latter of whom was a native of Georgia. Their respective parents were pioneer settlers in Madison County and were there reared, married and spent all of their lives.

Hearkening to the first call of President Lincoln for troops with which to quell the rebellion of the Southern States, Joseph E. Stringer enlisted in May, 1861, in Company I, 9th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served for nearly two years in some of the hardest fought campaigns of the Civil War. He was severely wounded in the left elbow at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, October 3, 1862, and crippled for life. He lost from his left elbow the so-called "funny bone" or point of the elbow and twenty-one pieces of bone were taken from his arm. The result was what is termed by science as a complete "ankelosis" and the arm has never been of much use. He fought at the great battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing, prior to receiving his wound.

Returning home he found conditions not to his liking as many thousands of returned veterans discovered on going back to the old home place after years of warfare. His health was impaired and he determined to heed Greeley's advice to "Go West." He came West, traveled over Kansas and Missouri, and like his old neighbor, Andrew D. McQueen, found the likable and health giving spot, the Leesville neighborhood. He bought eighty acres of land and placed all of the improvements upon it. This fine farm has been his home for half a century and he has never regretted coming to Missouri and Henry County, the garden spot of the West.

In November of 1867 Joseph E. Stringer and Miss Louisa Edwards were united in marriage. Mrs. Louisa Stringer was born in 1840 and departed this life in 1908 a well beloved and faithful wife and companion of Mr. Stringer for over forty years of happy wedded life. She was born in Illinois, the daughter of Louis B. Edwards, who was a pioneer of Henry County. Two children blessed this union; Effie L., her father's housekeeper, and Leora, wife of Robert Wilson, who operates the Stringer home place.

Mr. Stringer has always voted the Republican ticket and has filled local township offices, always having taken a warm interest in civic affairs. When a young man he knew Abraham Lincoln personally and was his warm supporter in the great emancipator's political campaigns in Illinois. He has visited in Lincoln's Illinois home and saw his body after his assassination when the entire state of Illinois and the Nation did honor to his remains. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Dan McCook Post Grand Army of the Republic.

Charles D. George, one of the foremost educators of Henry County, is a native of this county and of Henry County pioneer ancestry. Mr. George, now principal of the Calhoun High School, has for many years been a teacher in the district and high schools of this State, as well as schools in New Mexico and California. He was born June 3, 1869, in Springfield township, Henry County, a son of William G. and Rebecca (Strieby) George. William G. George was born in Springfield township in February, 1847, and received his education in the rural schools of the county and was a farmer for many years. Rebecca (Strieby) George was born in 1848. William G. and Rebecca (Strieby) George were the parents of six children, as follow: The eldest died in infancy; Charles, subject of this sketch; Ida, wife of L. Munday, is deceased; Lewis, lives in Springfield township, Henry County; and two who died in infancy. William George died December 1, 1917, and his wife departed this life in 1914.

William G. George was a son of William C. and Eliza (Collins) George, the former bom in West Virginia September 25, 1806, the son of John George, born in Pennsylvania in 1770, who moved to Madison County, Virginia, in 1821 and there remained the rest of his life. William C. George came to Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1816 and in 1835 came to Henry County, Missouri. He homesteaded in Springfield township and followed the life of the average pioneer farmer. November 21, 1839, he married Eliza Collins, a native of Missouri. Three sons and two daughters were bom to this union. William C. George was a soldier in the Mexican War and endured all of the privations incident to the pioneer life. He was a successful fanner and stockman and at the time of his death he owned 620 acres of land.

Charles D. George was reared on the farm and received his early education in the district schools of Henry County and afterwards, in 1889, he entered the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri, where he was graduated in 1896. Previous to graduation he spent four years in teaching the district schools. He was principal of the Urich High School, Urich, Missouri, for one year and principal of the Osceola schools for three years, and for four years was principal of the Schell City schools. He then became principal of the Jefferson City High School, Jefferson City, Missouri, and held that position for three years. During this time he served as school commissioner of Cole County, Missouri, for two years. He then became principal of the Otero County Union High School at Alamogordo, New Mexico, and he also was superintendent of the schools at that place for five years. For a time he was instructor of agriculture and manual training at Silver City, New Mexico, Normal School. Later Mr. George went to Los Angeles, California, where he was graduated from the Los Angeles State Normal School. He also was principal of the Beverly Hills schools of Los Angeles. In 1917 he was principal of a ward school in Joplin, Missouri, and in 1918 he accepted his present position as principal of the Calhoun High School.

Mr. George returned to Missouri on account of his father's ill health and since that time has resided on his farm near Calhoun. Here he enjoys his vacations between his years of school work. He is interested in blooded stock and owns a fine herd of Aberdeen Angus registered cattle, which is a source of great interest to him, both from the standpoints of recreation and profit.

On September 7, 1892, Mr. George was united in marriage with Miss Kathleen O'Bannon, of Cooper County, Missouri, born June 23, 1873, and one daughter has been born to this union, Kathleen, who was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California, November 5, 1913.

Mr. and Mrs. George are members of the Baptist Church and Mr. George belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modem Woodmen of America. He supports the policies and principles of the Democratic party.

Daniel P. Griffith, proprietor of a fine farm of 196 acres located in sections 27 and 22 of Springfield township, is one of the successful live stock producers and feeders of Henry County. He was born in Louisa County, Iowa, March 30, 1855, the son of Isaac and Rebecca (Parris) Griffith, to whom nine children were bom.

Isaac Griffith was born in West Virginia in 1813 and went to Ohio when a young man. Not long after settling in Ohio he located in Iowa, where he was married. In 1868 he came to Missouri and bought a farm in Benton County, becoming owner of 200 acres of land which was his home until his death in 1878. The youthful days of Isaac Griffith were spent in poverty and he made his own way in the world. Having been left an orphan when a child, he was reared by a colored woman until he was able to make his own way. Mrs. Rebecca Griffith was born in New Jersey in 1821 and departed this life in 1877.

Daniel P. Griffith was reared to young manhood on the farm in Benton County and he purchased a part of the old home place. His start in life was not auspicious, having began his career with a team of horses purchased on time and no money. He sold out his holdings in Benton County in 1885 and came to Henry County, where he purchased his farm and made good improvements thereon. For a period of ten years he operated the Thrush Mercantile Store.

Mr. Griffith was married on March 2, 1884, to Mollie Strader, who was born in Tennessee March 2, 1863, the daughter of Jesse Strader, an early settler in Henry County, who later went to Oklahoma and died in that State. Four children have been born to Daniel P. and Mollie Griffith, as follow: Mrs. Ethel Cheatham, Buckner, Kansas, is the mother of two children, Paul and Uel; Sherman, was born February 15, 1888, married February 17, 1913, to May Schoonover, and has one child. Alma, resides on the home place; Horace, born April 16, 1892, a soldier in the National Army, member of the 110th Ammunition Train, now on the western front in France, and Leota, at home.

Mr. Griffith is a Republican and has served as justice of the peace in Springfield township. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Griffith's success has been mainly due to the feeding and raising of live stock, his annual sales of live stock fed on his place exceeding three carloads. He is a progressive and enterprising citizen who stands high in his community.

Joseph W. Huston, late of Windsor, Missouri, was a useful and widely known citizen of Henry County and was a pioneer settler of this county, accompanying his parents to Missouri as early as 1844. He was born in Morgan County, Illinois, December 8, 1839, and was the son of Robert P. and Nancy (Spencer) Huston, being the third born of eight children. The Huston family came to Boone County, Missouri, in 1844, and some time later made a permanent location in Henry County, in the vicinity of Windsor. Both Robert P. and Nancy Huston died in Windsor.

federate Army, serving until the close of the Civil War, when he returned to his home in Henry County and engaged in farming. He first rented land in Johnson County and then purchased a farm in Tebo township, Henry County, upon which he placed substantial improvements. He resided on his farm for forty-five years and in 1912 located in Windsor, where he lived in well earned retirement until his death, November 17, 1917.

November 2, 1871, Mr. Huston was united in marriage with Emma E. Allen, who was born November 1, 1847, at Old Harmony Mission in Bates County, Missouri, the daughter of George J. and Esther (Mitchel) Allen, concerning whom the reader is referred to the biography of Robert W. Allen elsewhere in this volume.

When fifteen years of age Joseph W. Huston was converted to the cause of Christianity under the pastorate of Rev. A. P. Linn in Boone County, and during the remainder of his life he was a true and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, living a blameless and irreproachable life. He was a man highly esteemed for his many worthy traits and sterling qualities and was universally respected and admired by all who knew him. Mrs. Huston is a member of the Methodist Church. Residing with her at her home in Windsor is a sister. Miss Belle Allen.

John W. Boyd, a successful farmer and stockman, owner of a splendid farm of 201 acres of land in sections 1, 11 and 12, Tebo township, is a native son of Missouri. He was bom in Lafayette County, September 18, 1873, a son of James A. and Mary D. (Forsey) Boyd.

James A. Boyd was born in Jackson, Alabama, June 28, 1826, and is now making his home in Windsor, one of the oldest residents of Henry County. He was reared in the southland and becam.e a plantation owner, using slaves to the number of 100 to perform the work of his plantation. During the Civil War he was engaged in the manufacture of saltpetre for the Confederate government, saltpetre being an important ingredient used in the making of gunpowder. At the close of the war he removed to Illinois and located near Jacksonville, where he remained until 1868. He then moved to Lafayette County, Missouri, where he was engaged in farming until 1894, when he came to Henry County, and after a few years spent in farming he located in Windsor and has resided there for the past twenty years. Mrs. Mary D. (Forsey) Boyd was born July 26, 1832, and departed this life January 5, 1910. To James A. and Mary D. Boyd were born eleven children, eight of whom are living, as follows:

Mrs. Harriet Hurt, a widow living at Windsor, with her father; Eliza, lives with her father; Thomas K., lives in Kansas; William, deceased; James A., Jr., lives at Ault, Colorado ; Mattie L., deceased ; Mrs. Mary D. Jackson, a widow, lives in Idaho; David M., is a farmer in Tebo township; Forsey is deceased; Lindley lives at Wichita, Kansas; John W. is the youngest of the family.

Reared upon the farm, John W. Boyd received his education in the district school and spent some months as a student in the State Normal School at Warrensburg. He accompanied his parents to Henry County in 1894 and purchased his present farm, consisting of 161 acres, which he bought on his own account and forty acres which his wife inherited.

December 29, 1897, John W. Boyd and Miss Annie Allen were united in marriage. Two children have been born to this marriage: Julia and Helen. Mrs. Annie (Allen) Boyd was born in Tebo township, Henry County, January 13, 1876, a daughter of William M. and Julia (Harris) Allen, who were parents of seven children: William R., x\va, Missouri; Mrs. Esther Hurt, Aberdeen, Idaho; Mrs. John W. Boyd, of this review; Charles, deceased; twins died in infancy; John Allen, the youngest son of the family, makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Boyd.

William M. Allen was born in Tebo township December 10, 1838, and died February 15, 1914. He was the son of George J. Allen, a native of Buncombe County, North Carolina, who came to Henry County and settled here in 1835. George Allen was accompanied by his brother, Robert W. Allen, and their father, James Allen. The Aliens were among the very earliest pioneers of Tebo township and assisted in the organization of the first schools and church in the township. They were among the founders of Salem Presbyterian Church, which was the first church of that denomination to be organized in Henry County. William M. Allen was married January 12, 1870, to Julia Harris, who was born in St. Clair County, Missouri, September 3, 1849, and departed this life May 28, 1885. To William M. and Julia Allen belong the credit and honor of having reared a splendid family of sons and daughters and who were among the earliest of the pioneer families of this county.

The Democratic party has always had the allegiance of John W. Boyd and he has held the office of tax collector of his township for a period of four years. His time is fully occupied with his farming and live stock operations and he has little choice for political aflfairs. He and Mrs. Boyd are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are highly esteemed as excellent and worthy citizens of Henry County.

Eugene E. Wall. - The day of the old time methods of tilling the soil in Missouri with its attendant waste and depletion of fertility and natural resources is fast passing. Intelligent methods of crop raising, conserving the richness of the soil and the application of scientific knowledge to crop production and the raising of live stock is taking the place of the former slipshod methods of hit and miss ways of farming. It has been ascertained that it costs less to produce live stock of the pure bred variety and to fatten them for the markets than to raise the former scrub cattle and hogs with which the Missouri farms were formerly stocked. Here and there in the different counties of the State a number of intelligent and highly progressive agriculturists and live stock men are taking the lead in this latest development in the science of animal husbandry. Where formerly the stockman gave little heed to the kind of cattle and hogs which he raised from year to year, there are now leaders who keep and produce only the best and purest bred stock which in turn is dispersed over the country among others who see the need of improving their herds, and a vast amount of good results. A leader in the production of fine live stock, and one of the most successful and widely known breeders in the State of Missouri is Eugene E. Wall of Tebo township, Henry County. Mr. Wall embarked in the pure bred live stock industry in 1895, and now maintains one of the most famous herds of registered Hereford cattle in the country. His Herefords have been exhibited throughout the country at various State fairs and the American Royal Stock Show at Kansas City. In the season of 1911, Mr. Wall sold a carload of cattle which brought the highest price on the Kansas City market, known up to that time, the cattle bringing $12.50 per hundred weight, a price of two dollars over and above the top market price. Again in 1912, he received $12.20 per hundred for a carload of cattle. Mr. Wall's herd leader, "Beau Merry" No. 566449, was bred by Gudgell and Simpson, and the animal is valued at over $4,000. The fine cattle produced on the Wall farm are sold in many Western and Southern States, and he holds public sales which are attended by buyers from all sections of the country. Mr. Wall is also a breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs.

Eugene E. Wall was born in Tebo township, June 26, 1860, the son of Julius F. and Bettie (Woolfolk) Wall, who were parents of two children: Eugene E., subject of this sketch; and Julius F., a druggist in Windsor. The father of these boys was killed on August 16, 1862, while participating in the Battle of Lone Jack, he having enlisted with the Con- federate forces at the outbreak of the Civil War. He was born in North Carolina in 1830 and accompanied his parents to Henry County, Missouri, in 1836, the family settling on the farm now owned by Eugene E. Wall, of this review. The grandfather of Eugene E. Wall was Mason Wall, who was well known among the early pioneers of Henry County.

On the 10th of August, 1862, about 100 boys of northern Henry and southern Johnson County met in an elm grove, about three miles southwest of where Leeton now stands. Doctor Warren was made captain of the company. The following day Julius F. Wall joined this company. This company joined the command of General Cockrell in the western part of Henry County and were sworn into the Confederate service in the afternoon of August 15th. This was about four miles west of Lone Jack, and in the night of the 15th they marched into Lone Jack, where the battle was fought on August 16. Julius F. Wall and a number of others of this county were killed in this battle and were buried by their comrades on the battlefield where they had fallen. After the war a monument was erected to mark the graves of the Confederate dead. Julius F. Wall's father, Mason Wall, was a native of North Carolina and fought in the War of 1812 and was made major. After the war he received a grant of land from the Government for his services. In 1836, Mason Wall came to Henry County.

Mrs. Bettie (Woolfolk) Wall was born in Boone County, Missouri, and her parents, formerly from Kentucky, settled in Henry County, in 1856. After the death of Julius F. Wall, his widow married James H. Bass. Four children were bom of this marriage: Mrs. Kate Carmichael, Holden, Missouri; Mrs. Sallie Hayden, widow, living at Pueblo, Colorado; Mrs. Ella Grinstead, deceased ; Mrs. Bessie Rex, Drexel, Missouri. The mother of these children departed this life in 1900.

After attending the district school and the Windsor public school, Eugene E. Wall studied for one year, 1876-1877, in Central College at Fayette, Missouri. From 1877 to 1881, he was engaged in the sheep business in western Texas. Returning to Windsor, he was connected with the furniture and undertaking business there until his marriage in 1883, at which time he purchased the old home place of the family and engaged in farming and live stock raising. Mr. Wall has prospered as he deserved and is owner of 720 acres of well improved farm land.

Boone County, Missouri, the daughter of Logan and Margaret (Harris) Sutherland, natives of Kentucky, both of whom are descended from Colonial Revolutionary stock. To this marriage five children have been born: Charles S., a farmer in Tebo township; Julius F., a private in the National Army ; Mrs. Helen Pigg, Windsor, Missouri, who with her mother, is a member of the daughters of the American Revolution; Logan and John W., at home with their parents.

Mr. Wall is allied with the Democratic party, but confines his interest and activities in politics to voting. He and Mrs. Wall are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Wall is affiliated with the American Hereford Breeders' Association and takes considerable interest in the affairs of this association.

August W. Pruessner. - The successful career of August W. Pruessner of Leesville, Missouri, began in 1885 when he purchased a lease on a tract of Grand River land and for three years tilled the land with fair success. He then bought sixty acres near the New Church in Bethlehem township, upon which he resided for four years and added forty acres during his tenure of the farm. Since his boyhood days Mr. Pruessner has known nothing but hard, continuous labor. He resided for three years in Benton County, Missouri, and bought land east of Warsaw, upon which he lived for three years. In 1897 he located upon 200 acres for which he traded. This land was located on the Benton-Henry County line and he cultivated it for three years. He accumulated 400 acres and improved the farm to a considerable extent. In 1905 he moved to Leesville and bought eighty-five acres of his present home place, which consists of 305 acres in all. He owns in addition to this another farm of 400% acres on Tebo Creek, eighty acres of which lies in Henry County and the balance in Benton County. One hundred acres of the Pruessner land were sown to wheat, which has yielded (1918) the splendid crop of fifteen bushels to the acre; 180 acres are in corn, which promises to give a fine yield, and thirty-five acres of oats. The rest of the land is sown to grasses and pasture for the live stock. Twenty horses and mules are kept on the place and from ninety to 100 head of cattle are fattened annually for the markets. The farm produces from fifty to 400 head of hogs annually. The Pruessner ranch is one of the most modern and best equipped in Henry County. A silo is filled each year with green forage. The plowing and harrowing is done with a modern tractor. A grist mill is also operated by the same power. The ranch is equipped with the most mod-

August W. Pruessner was born in Germany in May, 1866, the son of Simon and Florence Pruessner, the latter of whom died when August W. was a youth. The Pruessners came to America in 1867 and settled in Osage County, Missouri, and later in Gasconade County. From there they went to Kansas and settled in Henry County in 1886. The elder Pruessner was a farmer.

In October of 1887 August W. Pruessner and Martha Fisher were 'United in marriage. Mrs. Martha Pruessner was born in Saline County, the daughter of Christ Fisher, a native of Pennsylvania and one of the old settlers in this county, moving from Saline to St. Clair County and thence to Henry County. The children born to August W. and Martha Pruessner are as follows: Christ, died when young; Elizabeth, was educated at the Warrensburg Normal School and has taught three terms of school, now a student at Clinton Business College; Albert, born February 15, 1894, is a farmer, married Vivian Swazey; Janie, former student at Warrensburg State Normal School and now student at Clinton Business College ; Oscar, born July 27, 1898, is assisting in the home farming operations and is a capable and energetic young man; Ethel, Veda, at home; Everett, died in infancy. In addition to the other conveniences on this splendidly equipped farm the Pruessners have a late "Studebaker Six" which takes the family to town or city in a few minutes.

Mr. Pruessner is a Republican, although he has had little time for political matters. He was reared a Presbyterian but has embraced the faith as exemplified by the Baptist teachings. Of late years Mr. Pruessner's health has been such that it has become necessary for him to shift the burden of caring for the farming operations to the shoulders of his capable and energetic sons, who are successful farmers. His career has reached its zenith, having achieved wealth and position in the agricultural life of Henry County he can well be content to let others take up the task of carrying onward the work so well done.

Richard W. Edmondson, mail carrier for Rural Route No. 18, Windsor, Missouri, was bom March 23, 1876, in Windsor township. He is the son of James W. Edmondson, concerning whom an extended review is given elsewhere in this volume.

then enlisted as a private soldier in Company F, 2nd Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment for service in the Spanish-American War. He received his honorable discharge from the service on March 9, 1899, and returned to the home farm. He was employed at farm labor near Lewis Station until October 9, 1899, and then enlisted in Company, 40th United States Volunteer Infantry Regiment, for service in the Philippines. He saw much active service in the island and was promoted to the post of duty sergeant. For five weeks he was ill with malaria contracted in the Philippines. He received his honorable discharge from the service at the Presidio, California, June 24, 1901. Upon his return home his father told him that he had a position waiting for him and he learned that a rural mail route was being organized out of Windsor which would pay a salary of $500 a year. Postmaster George W. Schweer assisted him in obtaining the appointment. On January 1, 1902, he began his duties as carrier. Mr. Edmondson's salary has since been increased to $1,450.

On February 29, 1904, Richard W. Edmondson and Miss Addie Mason were united in marriage. They have one child, Herschel, born January 12, 1905. Mrs. Addie Edmondson was bom in Pettis County, Missouri, the daughter of Thomas and Mary C. (Woods) Mason, natives of Illinois, and who were farmers in Benton and Pettis Counties. Mr. Mason is deceased and Mrs. Mason now lives at Vincennes. Indiana, with a daughter.

Mr. Edmondson is a stockholder of the First National Bank of Windsor and is interested financially in the Farmers Elevator Company. He is a Republican in politics and is a member and deacon of the Christian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs and the Modern Woodmen of America.

Bryce F. Richardson, cashier of the Peoples Bank, Calhoun, Missouri, is a native of Henry County. He was born on a farm in Springfield township, October 24, 1873, the son of Francis B. and Mary E. (Holland) Richardson, who were parents of four children: Luther, manager of the Calhoun, Missouri, Telephone Company; Lucian C, a farmer in Tebo township; Clyde N., a farmer of Deercreek township; Bryce F., subject of this sketch.

Francis B. Richardson was bom in Monongahela County, West Virginia, in 1837, and immigrated to Missouri in 1869, locating on a farm in Springfield township, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his retirement to a home in Clinton in 1909. Mrs. Mary E. Richardson was also born in West Virginia in 1840.

Bryce F. Richardson is self-made and has accomplished much for a comparatively young man. He was educated in the district school and the Calhoun High School and also studied in Central College, Fayette, Missouri. In 1900 he saw the need of a telephone system for the convenience of the people of Calhoun and vicinity, and accordingly organized and placed in operation the first telephone line ever in operation in this vicinity. This was known as the Tebo Telephone Company and Mr. Richardson conducted the concern until he disposed of it in 1909. He then assisted materially in the organization of the Peoples Bank of Calhoun and became the first and present cashier of this bank, which has met with a gratifying growth during its nine years of operation. The president of this bank is M. D. Finks, the vice-pi'esident is W. C. Butler, a substantial merchant of Calhoun.

Mr. Richardson was married April 2, 1901, to Miss Emma N. Finks, who was born in Tebo township, the daughter of Milton D. Finks, a retired farmer of Calhoun. Five children have been born of this marriage : William F., Homer C, Hazel L., Bettie F., and Lillian.

The Democratic party has the support of Mr. Richardson, although he does not take an exceedingly active part in political affairs. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is affiliated v>'ith the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Michael Edwards, a leading merchant of Calhoun, Missoui'i, is a native of New York, and was born in Monroe County, that State, August 23, 1856. He is the son of Patrick and Ellen (Bowling) Edwards who were parents of twelve children, five of whom are living.

Patrick Edwards was born in County Clare, Ireland, January 8, 1820, and died October 27, 1887. He left his native land in 1848, after having followed seafaring life for a number of years, finally settling in New York, where he engaged in railroad work as trainman and was also engaged in railroad construction. In 1867, he located in Franklin County, Missouri, and followed railroading for three years, coming to Henry County in 1870. He became track foreman for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway at Lewis Station and held this position until his retirement, a short time prior to his death. Mrs. Ellen Edwards was also born in County Clare, Ireland, September 25, 1832, and died in September, 1877. The parents of Michael Edwards were married in New Yoi'k.

he opened a general merchandise store at Calhoun and has become one of the town's most successful and enterprising business men. He was married October 31, 1882, to Miss Ella Minish, born in Calhoun, daughter of Isaac and Priscilla (Linn) Minish, the former located in Calhoun as early as 1856 and followed the trade of watchmaker for several years, also serving as postmaster of the town, dying in this city in 1905. To Michael and Ella Edwards have been born six children: James W., assisting his father in the Edwards store; Patricia, in Washington; Mary E., wife of D. L. Green, Windsor, Missouri ; Thomas, formerly assisting his father, now a private in the National Army, attending the Rahe Army School at Kansas City, Missouri; Margaret, wife of W. L. Graham, St. Louis, Missouri; Arthur, at home.

Mr. Edwards is a member of the Catholic church, as are several members of his family. He has always been a Democrat and is one of the substantial citizens of Calhourl, who has built up an excellent and flourishing trade by the exercise of honest and dependable methods of doing business.

Clyde N. Richardson is manager of the Calhoun Elevator and owner of 200 acres of well improved land in Deer Creek townshio. Mr. Richardson is a native of Henry County, born February 22, 1875, in Springfield township, and is the son of Francis B. and Maiy E. (Holland) Richardson. See sketch of Brice F. Richardson for complete history of this family.

Clyde Richardson was educated in the Calhoun schools and "Central College" of Fayette, Missouri, and when a lad in his early teens, he left the parental roof to work for himself. For a number of years he rented the home farm from his father until he purchased 120 acres in 1910 in Deer Creek township. He followed his farming operations exclusively until he was made manager of the Calhoun Elevator Company in March, 1917.

May 28, 1904, Clyde Richardson was united in marriage to Eliza Finks, who taught school for a number of years prior to her marriage. She is a native of Tebo township, and a daughter of Milton D. and Bettie (Lewis) Finks. They are retired farmers, making their home in Calhoun. One child, Francis Milton, born February 13, 1905, has come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson and he is attending the schools of Calhoun to fit himself for his future life work.

Abraham Wiley. - The late Abraham Wiley, born March 20, 1820, was one of the ti'ue pioneers of this section. He was one of the men who laid the foundations of the social, religious, political and industrial life of Henry County. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, a son of William and Margaret (Whitson) Wiley. They were the parents of six boys and three girls, all born in Tennessee ere the family left their home in the crude ox-wagon for their slow and perilous journey to Lafayette County, Missouri. This was in 1830, and they remained in that county until 1833, when they came to Henry County to homestead 160 acres in Tebo township. The first night of their arrival upon Tebo Creek, an unusual display of shooting star illuminated the sky and it was a source of delight and a means of remembering their first night near their future home.