Johnson County, Missouri - - Biographical, 1918 (part 14 of 19)

The methods which Mr. Jones uses in farming and gardening are interesting as well as instructive. He plants everything by line and evenly spaced, having hand tools adjusted for cultivation. In planting potatoes, Mr. Jones puts in two rows of potatoes and then one row of melons and so continues and when the potatoes are dug plants corn in their bed. With the lighter garden produce, he plants first the early varietv and follows with a late varietv and in this wav usuallv raises two hundred dollars worth of melons on an acre of ground. Last year, of 1916. Mr. Jones raised on a two-acre patch five hundred seven dollars worth of produce, including potatoes, melons, cabbage, sweet corn, and other vegetables, and besides supplied his own home with an abundance of fresh garden products. He did not hire to exceed five dollars worth of labor, but did all the work himself. This year, of 1917, the five-acre tract will average a crop valued at more than two hundred dollars an acre. This busy gardener states that eggplant, sweet peppers, early tomatoes, the bush variety of summer squash are all very profitable. He raises an extremely early variety of tomatoes, a variety which comes a week before most early varieties. Mr. Jones grows onions from seed. One season, he produced an average of eight hundred forty bushels an acre. He has in his possession a photograph of this unusual harvest. One year in Xodaway county, a patch of onions yielded an average of one thousand bushels an acre. The plants were transplanted from a hot bed and the onions were the yellow prizetakers. Every bit of ground is utilized and Mr. Jones finds little time for either sleeping or "loafing" when he is doing all the w-ork on his little farm. He guarantees everything he sells to be exactly as represented and has not one dissatisfied customer. If asked the secret of his marked success as a gardener and truck farmer, Will R. Jones will tell the questioner, "The main thing is for the gardener to be in love wnth his work."

L. C. Gore Jr., of the city of AVarrensburg. is one of the prominent citizens of Johnson county. He was born in 1872 at Falls City, Richardson county, Nebraska, the only son of L. C, Sr. and ^lary Josephine Gore, the former, a native of Kentucky and the latter, of Indiana. L. C. Gore. Sr. was born in 1841. He entered the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 and served throughout the conflict. After the war had ended, he located in Nebraska and when thirty-one years of age was accidentally killed by the unexpected discharge of a gun while he was away from home on a prospecting tour searching for a new location in Cloud county. Kansas. L. C. Gore. Sr. left a widow and an only son, L. C, Jr., the subject of this review. The widowed mother again married and to the second union were born two daughters: Nellie, the wife of Carl ^Manning, of Custer county. Oklahoma; and Gladys, the wnie of AA'alter Hightower, of Custer county, Oklahoma. The mother is now living, a resident of Weatherford, Oklahoma.

ardson county Nebraska and Cass county Missouri. At the age of twelve years he came to Cass county, Missouri and there remained until he was fifteen years of age, when he went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he was employed until the autumn of 1890, at which time he came to Warrensburg to enter the Warrensburg State Normal School. Mr. Gore was a student at this educational institution one year and then passed the teachers' examination obtaining a license to teach in the schools of Johnson county and for one year was employed as teacher at Locust Grove school house southwest of Warrensburg after which he taught in the Chickasha nation of Oklahoma, a mixed school of Indians and white children. Mr. Gore was a member of the teaching profession of Johnson county six years, employed at Liberty and Fayetteville. when he abandoned educational work in 1901 to enter the mercantile i)usiness, first as a clerk in the shoe store owned by John B. Clark and then, after two years' experience, as manager of the shoe department of the Gilkeson Dry Goods Company. In partnership wnth G. A. Thurber, L. C. Gore, Jr. purchased the John B. Clark mercantile establishment and continued the business for some time, when Mr. Thurber purchased the interest of Mr. Gore in 1904. The latter then entered the insurance business and wrote life insurance for the Metropolitan Insurance Company and in October of his first year with the company he was promoted to the position of assistant superintendent and he remained with the company two years. In 1905, L. C. Gore. Jr. bought Mr. Thurber's store and conducted the shoe store until 1907, when he again disposed of his business interests, selling to Shock & Son, and returned to his former work with the Metropolitan Insurance Company and again was promoted to the position of assistant superintendent, in which capacity he remained until 1910. In October. 1910, Mr. Gore purchased a half interest in the Houts Scenic Company and was traveling salesman for the company, covering territory north to Canada, south to the Gulf of Mexico, and west to Denver, selling his interest in the company in September, 1912. Mr. Gore was elected collector of internal revenue for the city of Warrensburg in April, 1913 and reelected to the same ofifice in 1915, his second term expiring April 1, 1917. He has been closely and prominently connected with the city schools of Warrensburg, having served continuously for the past fifteen years as member of the school board and for several years past as secretary of the board. L. C. Gore. Jr. is the youngest member of the

The marriage of L. C. Gore, Jr. and Ida F. Shackleford, a daughter of B. F. and Mary Shackleford. of Fayetteville, Missouri, was solemnized December 26, 1897. The Shacklefords were honored and valued pioneers of Johnson county, Missouri and both the father and the mother lived to be seventy-five years of age. Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Shackleford are buried in the cemetery at Old Liberty seven miles north of Warrensburg, To L. C. Jr. and Ida F. Gore has been born one child, a son, Lawrence, who is a graduate of the Warrensburg High School in the class of 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Gore are widely and favorably known throughout Johnson county.

Levi Jacoby. proprietor of "Ridge View Farm" in Columbus township is a son of a worthy and well-remembered pioneer family of Johnson county. He is a native of Marshall county, Indiana and in that state was reared and educated, but for nearly fifty years Mr. jacobv has been a resident of Johnson county. Missouri. He was born in 1851. a son of Elias and Margaret (Schaaf) Jacoby. widely known and honored as the founders of Jacoby Chapel and cemetery. Elias Jacoby was born October 8, 1815 in Schuylkill county. Pennsylvania and in 1823 moved with his parents to Ohio, wiiere he was reared to maturity. April 18, 1837, Elias Jacoby and Margaret Schaaf, daughter of John and Margaret Schaaf. the former, a resident of Germany until 1853. when he came to the LTnited States to make his home with his children, were united in marriage and to them were born the following children: Samuel, who was killed while in service in the United States army; John E., of Columbus township, who is unmarried: Elias. Jr., who died in childhood July 11, 1851 in Indiana; Mrs. Mary Ann Stump, Columbus township; David, who li\'ed in Lane county, Oregon and died March 18, 1917; Mrs. Catharine Grimm, who died in Indiana. November 2. 1870; Mrs. Margaret Bonduran. Marshall county. Indiana; Levi, the subject of this review; Mrs. Eliza Jane Summers. Hazel Hill township; Isaiah. Hazel Hill township; Mrs. Annette E. Knaus. Knob Noster, Missouri; and William D.. Holden. Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Jacoby were married near Waldo. Ohio in Marion county and for ten years remained in Ohio. In 1847. they moved to Indiana and resided on a farm in Marshall county until 1871. when they came to Johnson county, Missouri after spending a few months in Oregon. Mr. Jacoby sold his farm in Indiana and in February, 1872 settled on the farm on which Jacoby Chapel is now situated. Elias Jacoby donated the land for the church and cemetery and in his honor they were named. Mr. Jacoby lived but a few years in the new Western home. He died July 20, 1877 and burial was made in the cemetery he himself had established. Mrs. Jacoby, who was born January 9, 1819. died at the advanced age of ninety-one years, September 26, 1910.

Levi Jacoby obtained his education in the public schools of Indiana. His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm in Indiana and until after his father's death he remained at home with his parents. Mr. Jacoby purchased his first farm in 1882, a small tract of land comprising sixty-seven acres located in Hazel Hill township, and to this he added forty acres, now a part of the Tompkins Rice place, and to this farm moved in 1888. Mr. Jacoby sold the place eight years afterward, in 1896, and purchased his present country home, a farm embracing two hundred acres of land, formerly the C. Sharp land, located two and a half miles northeast of Columbus. All the excellent improvements on tiie farm have been placed there by Mr. Jacoby. The residence, a house of six rooms, was built in 1896 and there are two large, wellconstructed barns on the Jacoby place. "Ridge View Farm" is well watered and neatly kept, one of the attractive homes of this township. The residence is located on the ridge, from which a beautiful view of the surrounding country can be had, and thus the place came by its name. A part of the farm is at the highest point in the county. Round Grove creek, a tributary of Honey creek, flows through "Ridge View Farm." Mr. Jacoby has raised a large number of hogs annually and has succeeded well both in general farming and stock raising.

In December, 1880, Levi Jacoby and May Silvey, daughter of John and Rebecca Ann Silvey, of Columbus township, were married. J\lay Silvey was born near Zanesville, Ohio in 1853 and she came to Warrensburg. Missouri with her parents in 1867. Mr. Silvey is now deceased and his remains are interred in the cemetery at Columbus. The widowed mother makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Jacoby. She is now eighty-seven years of age. To Levi and May Jacoby have been born five children: Mrs. Clara May Jarman, w^fe of Milton Jarman. of Columbus township; Hattie Silvey, who is at home with her parents: Frank Levi, who is associated with his father in farming tlie home place and resides at home with his parents; Otto Raymond, who married Myrtle Greenwell, and he is now deputy recorder of Johnson county; and Bessie Ann. wife of Frank Coffman. the well-known undertaker of McMeeker's ^lercantile Company of W'arrensburg.

:Mr. Jacoby was well acquainted with Pleasant Rice, the first settler of Johnson county and he states that the oldest house still standing in this county is on the Kelly place and was built by ]Mr. Rice. This house was originally a log cabin. Init it has since been weatherboarded. It is about one mile northwest of the Jacoln' home. Senator Francis M. Cockrell and Governor Crittenden were among Mr. Jacoby's earliest acquaintances in [Missouri and among the residents of Gay street in Warrensburg forty-five years ago, Mr. Jacoby recalls Dr. Robinson; M. C. Shryack; Mr. Hawkins; Ritter, the wineman; Spurling, the barber; and Mr. Asbury.

A young man, twenty years of age. Levi Jacob}- came with his parents to this part of Missouri and for the past forty-five }'ears the Jacoby name has been closely connected with the history of the development and growth of Johnson county. Mr. and Airs. Jacoby are both of good, pioneer lineage and they are highly respected and valued citizens of Columbus township.

John Knaus, an honored pioneer of Johnson county, is a citizen worthv of the highest regard and consideration. He was born March 1, 1833 in Howard county. Missouri, son of Jacob and Catherine (Maxwell) Knaus. Jacob Knaus was a son of Henry Knaus. an eminent pioneer of Howard county. Missouri. Henry Knaus was by trade a blacksmith. He came to Missouri in 1817 and died in 1853. Jacob Knaus entered fourteen hundred acres of land in Johnson county, where he became widely known as a prosperous and influential farmer.

When John Knaus was a youth, the schools were in Missouri very few and far apart. He attended school first in the country and later in Fayette, Bellair. and Warrensburg. completing his education at St. Louis Commercial College. St. Louis. [Missouri. After completing school, J\lr. Knaus entered the teaching profession and for several years taught school in Johnson county. He became interested in the pursuits of agriculture and turned his entire attention to farming, in which vocation he has ever since been engaged.

John and IMartha Ann (Thompson) Knaus were born four daughters, all of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Knaus died in 1900 and she was laid to rest in the family burial ground. She was a member of the Presbyterian church and a noble Christian woman, one whose life was an inspiration to all with whom she came in contact. Mr. Knaus now lives alone, quietly spending the closing years of his long life of usefulness on his little farm of thirty-six acres, near Knob Noster, where he is employed in attending his land in pasture and garden.

Mr. Knaus has been a resident of Johnson county for seventy-seven years and his personal experiences would alone give a clear picture of pioneer life and of the growth of the county, ^^'hen he came to Johnson county wild game was in abundance. He has many times seen more than thirty-five deer in one herd in this section of the state and tlocks of countless \vild turkeys and prairie chickens. The mail was received but once a week and at \Varrensbitrg, to which place one must go on horseback in order to obtain it. Later, the mail was distributed at another point, Clearfork Mill. The mail would be placed in a large box and the people would look through all the mail and select that which belonged to them. About 1846, Knob Noster became a postoffice, receiving its name from two prominent hilltops. Among the pioneer preachers, whom Mr. Knaus recalls, were "Un.cle John" Morrow, "Uncle Bob" Morrow, "Uncle Robert" Rennick, and Reverend James Dalton. Mr. Knaus has a fund of interesting and instructive stories of the days long past stored away in his wonderfully retentive memory.

Ernest L. Porter and Birch D. Porter, widely known as the Porter Brothers, proprietors of "The Valley View Farm Kennels" at Concordia, Missouri, have an established reputation that is country-wide, for breeders and trainers of high class field dogs. They are also known throughout Missouri as successful stockmen, raising Denmark saddle horses. Spotted Poland China hogs, and high grade cattle. For many years the two brothers have been partners and formerly they also trained horses, but in recent years this phase of the horse business has been abandoned. The Porter Brothers are the sons of John W. and Fannie G. (Harper) Porter, who are at the present time residing in Dunksburg, Missouri, where for years, Mr. Porter was engaged in the milling business. John A\'. Porter was born in 1838 in Smith county, Tennessee, son of Peter and Louisa Porter. In 1860, he was married to Fannie G. Harper, daughter of Matthew and Mary ?Iarper. of Ten- nessee. Both the Porter and Harper families were pioneer settlers of Alissouri, coming to Johnson county man_v years prior to the Civil War. Mr. Porter succeeded well in life in liis chosen vocation of farming and at one time was the owner of a splendid farm in Johnson county. About ten years ago, he retired from active business and he and Airs. Porter moved from the farm to Dunksburg, Missouri, where they now reside. To John \\'. and Fannie G. ( Harper) Porter have been born eight children, all of whom are now living: William A.. Mrs. Lula Park, Mrs. Cora A. Carter. Mrs. Lillie G. Park, John B., Ernest L.. Claud W., and Birch D.

The Porter Brothers have five hundred acres of land leased in Johnson county, most of which is devoted to meadow land and hav fields. They will have two hundred tons of hay this year, 1917. Since the partnership was formed many years ago, Ernest L. and Birch D. Porter have been well known as prosperous cattlemen, farmers, and live-stock breeders. Several years past, they added a dog kennel on their stock farm and began breeding and training setters, pointers. Irish water spaniels, fox and wolf hounds, cat and varmint hounds, rabl)it and squirrel hounds, coon hounds, and combination hunters. They were successful far beyond their greatest expectations and an extensive patronage was rapidly built, the kennel becoming renowned all over the United States and Canada. The dogs are sold on a guarantee and ten days' trial and sporting folks everywhere have the utmost confidence in any product of "The Valley \^iew Farm Kennels." The dogs are bred on the farm under the very best conditions. Dogs may also be boarded and trained at reasonable prices on the farm. The Porter Brothers make a specialty of yard breaking and force retrieving. They usually ha\e as many as four hundred grown dogs and puppies annually on the place. "Comanche Don," F. D. S. B. ^7927, by "Comanche Frank," out of Hard Cash's "Becky," the best bird dog in the state, is now at stud for a fee of twenty-five dollars. This dog is worth more than a thousand dollars, as is also "Champion Frisco Bedelia," an Irish water spaniel, an undefeated winner, which has four points above the championship. She has won thirty-three first and special prizes and has produced nine winners, among them, "Fannie McGee," the Panama Exposition winner. Her pups are selling for one hundred dollars each. All pointer and setter pups sell for from fifty to one hundred dollars each and trained dogs are valued at one hundred fifty dollars on up.

The two brothers are the best-informed and most interesting conversationaHsts on the subject of dogs in the state of Missouri. The water spaniels are usually sold to sportsmen for duck hunting in the northern part of America, but the bird dogs are shipped in all directions. A fine dog is worth as much and often more than a good horse.

In 1906, Birch D. Porter was united in marriage with Coda Berry, daughter of James Berry, of Sweetsprings, Missouri. In 1908, Ernest L. Porter was united in marriage with Mary F. Porter, daughter of G. W. and Sarah Porter. Although Ernest L. and Mary E. Porter bore the same name prior to marriage, they were in no way related. Both the Porter Iwys were born, reared, and educated in Johnson county, splendid types of tine, alert, intelligent Missourians, young citizens of whom all are proud.

Z. T. Kitterman, one of Chilhovvee township's well-to-do and industrious citizens, was born in Indiana in 1861. He is a son of John Wesley and Sarah (Smith) Kitterman. John Wesley Kitterman was a son of Zachariah Kitterman, a native of Germany, who emigrated from the fatherland in an early day and came to America, where he settled in Indiana. John Wesley Kitterman was engaged in farming in that state. Sarah (Smith) Kitterman was a daughter of Henry Smith, of Indiana. Z. T. Kitterman is one of fourteen children born to his parents.

In 1872, the Kitterman family moved from Indiana to Missouri, where they settled on a farm in Johnson county. The father had no money, when he came West, and he had a very hard time getting a start in the new Western home. He was not afraid of hard work and industriously and cheerfully hired himself to more prosperous farmers, receiving only one dollar a day. His boys, too, worked for other people and for their services received each fifty cents a day. When the Kittermans came to Johnson county, all this part of the country was covered with underbrush and timi:)er. There were few settlements and deer, wild turkeys, and prairie chickens might be found in great abundance.

In a school held at a private residence in Johnson county, Mr. Kitterman received his education. Miss Mollie Foster was his first teacher. Afterward, at different times, he was taught by "Bill" Ship, Mr. Butler, Anne Harris, and "Dave" Mohler. He recalls among the pioneer preachers, whom he often heard preach in the days of his boy- hood, Reverend Cockrell, Ezra Thompson, and Reverend Caldwell. Many times he has attended the old-time camp-meetings to which all the settlers came and where they enjoyed themselves immensely. Long ago, Mr. Kitterman became a member of the Baptist church and he has always been an active worker in this church since he became a member. He has been one of the deacons for the past twenty years and the superintendent of the Baptist Sunday school at Pleasant Valley for many years and is now the assistant superintendent. Mr. Kitterman was one of the leading factors in the establishment of the Pleasant Valley Baptist church and he is a charter member of this church. He gave his most energetic efforts to the Iniilding of the church structure at that place.

In the course of time b}' industry and careful economy. Z. T. Kitterman has prospered and he is now the owner of one hundred thirty-five acres of land in Chilhowee township. His tract of land is well located and exceedingly well watered. Half the farm is in grass and pasture land. Mr. Kitterman is devoting much attention to raising Poland China hogs and Shorthorn cattle.

In 1880, Z. T. Kitterman was united in marriage with Rosa Bell Calhoun, of Illinois, and to them have been born four children: Mrs. Mina Birnel, Chilhowee. [Missouri: Lyman E., at home with his parents; and two children, who are now deceased. P'or many years, Z. T. Kitterman has been an educational authority, being a school director for several terms and at the present time president of the school board. The Kitterman family has long been held in the highest respect and esteem in Johnson county, where they are numbered among the best and most substantial families.

G. W. Strickland was born in 1865 in Johnson county, Missouri, the son of E. C. and Harriet (Melton) Strickland, the former, a native of Ohio and the latter, of New York. E. C. Strickland was a successful farmer and stockman. He came to Missouri and settled in Johnson county prior to the time of the Civil War.

The boyhood days of G. W. Strickland were spent in this county, when deer and wild turkeys were to be found in the forests and cattle and hogs were allowed unlimited range over the wide, fenceless prairie. His school teacher at the Lowland school was Walter Crouch and the pioneer preacher, to whom he often listened as a youth, was Reverend Hedrick. Mr. Strickland has frequently attended the old- fashioned camp-meetings and he recalls how the young fellows would bring their "best girls" behind them on horseback. The young people of his time were not without amusements. Dances were always a source of much pleasure and entertainment. They were free to all who wished to come and were attended by the young folks from all parts of the county. As a young man, G. W. Strickland worked as a hired farm laborer for sixteen dollars a month.

In 1886, G. W. Strickland and Manda Rumley, daughter of John Rumley, were united in marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Strickland have been born three children, two girls and one boy, two of whom are now living: Mrs. Sylvia Crowder, Sweetsprings, Missouri; Sadie, who died at the age of seventeen years, eleven months and two days; and Lyman, who resides at home with his parents and is associated in the business of farming and stock raising with his father. After his marriage, Mr. Strickland rented land for several years and then purchased forty acres of land in Johnson county, upon which place he built an old-fashioned log house, which was their home for many years and in which all their children were born. He early began raising Poland China hogs and in the course of time prospered and with his savings was enabled to purchase, after six years time, forty acres more land. Since that time, Mr. Strickland has gradually increased his holdings and is now the owner of one hundred sixty acres of choice stock land, most of the farm being in grass. This year, 1917, he has forty acres of his place in corn and fifteen acres in sugarcane. For twenty years G. W. Strickland has been engaged in the manufacture of molasses, often times making more than two thousand gallons of syrup. He, himself, plants annually three to fifteen acres in cane and he makes molasses for his neighbors, who haul their cane to his well-equipped mill and evaporator. There will be forty tons of hay produced on the Strickland farm this year of 1917. Mr. Strickland keeps four mares on the farm and at present owns a fine Belgian stallion. Lyman, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Strickland, takes a keen interest and pride in the work of the farm. He is a bright, progressive, alert, young man and is perfectly contented with country life, differing greatly from many of the young citizens of Johnson county. Mr. and Mrs. Strickland are highly respected and valued in their community and they are numbered among the county's best citizens.

the two living sons of John S. and Nanc}' E. (Johnson) Shannon, liis brother being Finis R., of Chilhowee, Missouri. John S. Shannon was a son of Willis Shannon, a prosperous farmer of Kentucky. Nancy E. (Johnson) Shannon was a daughter of William Johnson, an honored pioneer of Johnson county. The Shannon family, as the name well implies, is of Irish lineage. John Shannon came to Missouri in 1870 and two years later was united in marriage with Nancy E. Johnson. They settled on a farm one mile east of Chilhowee and on this place all their children were born.

At Stony Point, where S. L. Shannon attended school. Miss Irene Dunham was teaching when Mr. Shannon started on the road of learning. He was later taught by George Bryson, Leslie Smith, and Charles McCaskill, all early-day teachers. The pioneer preachers, whom he recalls having heard preach in his boyhood days, were: "Uncle Jim" Houx, Finis King, and Z. T. Orr. He attended the Sunday School held at Stony Point, of which his father, John S. Shannon, was the first superintendent. The first lesson, which S. P. Shannon was taught in the Sunday School at Stony Point, was about Jacob's dream. Leslie Smith, one of the teachers, sold a book called "The Story of the Bible." Mr. Shannon purchased a copy for his young son and perhaps no book in the Shannon home has been as inspiring to S. L. Shannon when a youth as was that one. He. himself, states that he has never forgotten the lessons it taught him and they laid the foundation for his later interest in church work. Many years after the time he first peeped within the covers of "The Story of the Bible," S. L. Shannon became superintendent of the Shiloh Sunday School and he now holds that position in the church there.

Mr. Shannon was born and reared on the farm and he has always been interested in the pursuits of agriculture. He inherited half of the old home place and purchased his brother's half and is now the owner of two hundred thirty-five acres of land. Mr. Shannon pursues the latest and most scientific methods of farming and stock raising. He is devoting much time and attention to raising Poland China hogs and Durham cattle. At the time of this writing, in 1917, he is milking eight cows. The large barn on his farm will hold seventy-five tons of hay. Mr. Shannon has been deservedly successful in his chosen vocation.

noble pioneers of Johnson county. To Mr. and Mrs. Shannon have been born three children: Ethel, Marion, and Walter. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shannon are valued and worthy members of the Presbyterian church and highly esteemed and respected in Johnson county. Mr. Shannon is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and with the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically, he is a Democrat.

Fred N. Thompson was born in Johnson county, Missouri in 1858, son of W. C. and Isabel Thompson. W. C. Thompson was a son of Robert Thompson who came from Tennessee to Johnson county in 1834 and entered one hundred sixty acres of land. Robert Thompson was of Irish lineage. For about thirty years, he was justice of the peace for this section of Missouri and he was called upon to settle the disputes of the settlers in all parts of the country. He was of strict Presbyterian belief and the leader in all religious affairs as well as social functions. Robert Thompson was a man worthy of the greatest respect and admiration, a gentleman of the old school, possessing high ideals and strong personal character. His death occurred in 1868. \\'. C. Thompson entered two hundred seventy-two acres of land in Johnson county, a part of which tract his son, Fred N., now owns. Eleven children were born to W. C. and Isabel Thompson, seven of whom are now living. The father died in 1912 and the widowed mother resides in Chilhowee, now at the advanced age of eighty-one years.

Susan Lewis, Lucy Johnson, and Lydia Graham were at different times employed as teacher at Old Town, when Fred N. Thompson was a schoolboy. He later attended school at Stony Point. As a lad, he has heard many of the pioneer preachers, among whom were : Reverend Wooldridge. "Uncle John" Morrow, Finis King, Sam McElvaine, and Reverend Cockrell. Mr. Thompson attended church services at Chilhowee, Pisgah, Shiloh, and Providence. Often in his youth, he has been a participant in an old-fashioned revival and camp-meeting.

On his father's farm, Fred N. Thompson began life for himself, engaged in the pursuits of agriculture. In 1886, he went to Holden, Missouri, where he accepted a position as an employe of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, which position he held for ten years, when lie returned to Johnson county farm district and purchased the old homestead. "Tlie Old Home Stoci< Farm" comprises two hundred hfty-three acres of land, the larger part of the tract heing in meado\v and pasture land. On this farm, Air. Thompson raises horses, mules, and cattle. At the present time, in 1917, he has tifty-three cows and heifers, of wdiich herd he now milks twenty cows. A registered Jersey male heads the herd. ]\Ir. Thompson ships the cream from his dairy to several different markets. This year of 1917, he has si.xty-five acres of the place in corn, fifteen acres in oats, and will have fortv tons of hay. "The Old Home Stock Farm" is well watered and well located.

In 1879, Fred X. Thompson and Stacy Ann Albin, daughter of James E. Albin, who came from Indiana to Johnson county in 1873. were united in marriage. To :\Ir. and :\Irs. Thompson have been born two children: Mrs. Sadie W'etherill. Chilhowee, Missouri: and Airs. Eva Strawsburg, Chilhowee, Missouri. Both Fred X. and Mrs. Thompson are worthy, consistent, and highly valued supporters of the Baptist church. Politically, Mr. Thompson is a Republican, but he has always been a great admirer of the late Senator F. M. Cockrell. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Alasons and with the Odd Fellows.

W. L. Martin, M. D., one of the leading medical practitioners of Johnson county, was born in 1876 in Christian county, Alissouri. He is a son of Reverend J. J. Alartin, one of the brave pioneer preachers of the Alethodist church and a man of marked intellectual ability. Alartin tilled many prominent and important positions and charges in this state. At one time, he was president of Carleton College, Farmington, Missouri. He was the chaplain of the State Penitentiary, during the administration of Governor Hadley. Reverend J. J. Martin was the minister of the dift'erent city churches of Joplin. Independence, Lamar, Alarionville. and Alt. \"ernon and in practically each of these cities was the prime factor in the building of the present beautiful church buildings now found in the above mentioned places. For manv vears. Reverend Martin was the chaplain serving the Grand Army of the Republic. He is now located at Alt. Washington. He is an exceptionally fine man, a scholar, a thinker - of whom there are so few in this world - and a gentleman, a true leader of men.

pleting his college course at Carleton College. He attended St. Louis University four years, graduating from the School of Medicine with the class of 1902. After completing his work in the university, Dr. Martin came to Chilhowee, where he opened an office and at this place has ever since been engaged in the practice of medicine. He is now enjoying a splendid practice and the highest respect and esteem of the different members of his profession. He is a member of the American Association of Railway Surgeons. Dr. Martin is the local surgeon for the Rock Island Railway Company.

In 1905, Dr. W. L. Martin and Lulu Johnson, the daughter of N. A. Johnson, now of Oklahoma, were united in marriage. To Dr. and Mrs. Martin have been born two children, both daughters: Pauline and Helen. Dr. Martin has always taken a keen interest in public affairs and was for two years the mayor of Chilhowee and is now, in 1917, a member of the Chilhowee School Board and the City Board of Public Works. He is an intensely deep thinker and much in advance of his time, but with all the broad perspective of the truly educated man, he is perfectly willing that others may have opinions that do not coincide with his own. Dr. and Mrs. Martin are held in the highest esteem and are very popular in Chilhowee.

R. T. Atkins, a well-to-do and highly respected farmer and stockiTian of Chilhowee township, is a member of a prominent pioneer family of Missouri. ' He was born in Johnson county in 1866, son of James and Elizabeth (Elliott) Atkins, who came to Missouri in 1850 from Kentucky and located in Moniteau county, where they resided two years, coming thence to Johnson county, where they settled in Chilhowee township on a large farm, part of which was purchased and a part entered from the government by Mr. Atkins. He was at one time owner of nearly six hundred acres of land in this county. July 28, 1850, James Atkins and Elizabeth Elliott, daughter of George Elliott, of Kentucky, were united in marriage and to them were born eleven children, seven of whom are now living: Mrs. Patsy Raker, Magnolia, Missouri; George, Salesville, Montana; Gary, Salesville, Montana; Judge Robert O., Blairstown, Missouri; R. T., Magnolia, Missouri; Mrs. Sallie Gill, Warrensburg, Missouri; and John, Holden, Missouri. The father died in 1903. Mr. Atkins was a highly esteemed citizen, a man of strict integrity and high ideals. For forty-five years he was a valued and worthy elder of the Presbyterian church. In 1912, he

R. T. Atkins attended school at New Liberty in Chilhowee township, where Miss Bettie Baker, Reverend VanAusdal, Miss JuHa Holland and Miss Antha Holland were at different times employed as teacher. When Mr. Atkins was a youth, there was much open prairie and virgin sod land. There were no roads, but the early settlers traveled along trails and by directions. Yokes of oxen were used when the sod was broken. Among the pioneer preachers, whom he knew and now recalls, were: Reverends J. H. Houx, Givens, and Morrow. Mr. Atkins has attended revival meetings, when the settlers from a circuit of many miles came enmasse, many of them in wagons and many on horseback. R. T. Atkins was born and reared on the farm and he is now engaged in the vocations of farming, stock raising, and dairying. His place in Chilhowee township comprises eighty acres of fine farm land and on this farm, Mr. Atkins is raising cattle and hogs, having seventy-five head of Duroc Jersey hogs at the present time, in 1917, and milking five cows. The cream from the Atkins dairy is marketed in Magnolia. The farm is abundantly supplied with water from a spring which has never been known to be dry.

In 1888, R. T. Atkins and Stella Box, daughter of R. M. and Anna E. (Warren) Box, were united in marriage. Mrs. Atkins is a member of a well-known and excellent pioneer family. Her father was a captain in the Union army and her mother was a daughter of T. C. and Elizabeth Warren, in whose honor the city of Warrensburg was named. To Mr. and Mrs. Atkins have been born two children: Mrs. Lyle Raker, Holden. Missouri; and Harold, at home with his parents. Harold Atkins is one of the county's most promising, young citizens. He is an exceptionally bright, industrious youth and a naturally gifted mechanic and architect. He takes care of his car and recently repaired and remodeled the residence, adding a splendid veranda, which he himself designed. He has made the old home an attractive, handsome place and all his work has been done in a skilful, neat, workmanlike manner. The Atkins family is widely known and highly regarded in this county and in their community Mr. and Mrs. Atkins number their friends by the score.

of Missouri. He was born in 1867 in Carroll county, Missouri, a son of \\\ O. and Frances (Hancock) Squires, the former, a native of Kentucky and the latter, of Carroll county, Missouri. W. O. Squires was born in 1842 in Kentucky and in early manhood moved to Missouri and settled on a large tract of land in Carroll county, where he became very successful and influential. At one time, Mr. Squires was the owner of more than one thousand acres of land in Carroll county. Frances (Hancock) Squires was the daughter of Stephen Hancock, an honored pioneer of Carroll county. To W. O. and Frances Squires were born nineteen children: S. P.. of Oklahoma; Mrs. Mary Barker, Pratt, Kansas; S. J., Bosworth, Missouri; Mrs. Belle Kyle, Neosho, Missouri; Mrs. Eveline Singleton, Long Beach, California; Mrs. Louvina Morrow, Hardy, Montana; Mrs. Roberta Brooks, Hardy, Montana; E. A., Bosworth, Missouri; S. P., Wichita, Kansas; Mrs. Ruth Ainsley, Dewitt, Missouri; Mrs. Eliza Fritzlau, Liberty, Missouri; Mrs. Emma DeShoug, Long Beach. California; B. M., the subject of this review; H. C, of Florida; J- D.. who is deceased; Mrs. Mildred Withers, Carrollton, Missouri ; and three children died in infancy. Sixteen of the nineteen children were reared to maturity and fifteen are now living. Those \\dio died in infancy were Susan, Frances, and Walter. The mother died in 1882 and se\'en years later tlie father departed this life. Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Squires were fine, worthy, and estimable citizens, who bravely and nobly did their part well in the upbuilding of the state of Missouri.

In 1889, B. M. Squires was united in marriage with Margaret Grant, a daughter of Richard and Anna Grant, of Carroll county. Mr. Grant was a successful and enterprising farmer of Carroll county. He died in 1906, one year after the death of his wife. Margaret (Grant) Squires is a graduate of Carrollton Academy, Carrollton, Missouri and for several years prior to her marriage was engaged in teaching school. She is one of the seven living children of the family of nine born to Mr. and Mrs. Grant and the only one not residing in Carroll county. To B. M. and Mrs. Squires have been born two children: Walter R. and Mildred B. Their son is in partnership with the father in farming and stock raising and the daughter is engaged in teaching school at Chilhowee. Miss Mildred is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School in the class of 1917. Both Mr. and Mrs. Squires are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1904, the Squires family came to Johnson county and purchased the old Clifford homestead. After three years, Mr. Squires sold this place, realizing a fair profit, and he then purchased one hundred acres of land near Medford for thirty-eight dollars per acre which he sold after three years for sixty-five dollars per acre. He bought one hundred fifty acres of land in Rose Hill township at that time for which tract he paid thirty-seven and a half dollars an acre. He was recently ofifered one hundred dollars an acre for his farm, one hundred acres of the place being fine grass land, fifty acres good corn land, producing an excellent crop this season, of 1917. The place is well equipped and watered, making an ideal stock farm considering the size and Mr. Squires is devoting much time to the raising of cattle, hogs and horses. This year he has sixty head of cattle, seventy-five to eighty head of hogs, and fourteen head of horses. He prefers Poland China hogs and Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Squires is an enthusiastic advocate of the manure spreader and of crop rotation. Besides farming and stock raising. Mr. Squires is engaged in dairying to a certain extent and at the present time is milking ten cows. Mrs. Squires is an industrious and energetic woman and she has had splendid success with her department of the farm labor, poultry raising, having between seven and eight hundred Rhode Island Red chickens. She takes keen pleasure in her work and enjoys watching the growth of her charges and attending to their marketing. Both Mr. and Mrs. Squires are highly intelligent, capable, and splendid citizens and Johnson county is to be congratulated for having been the chosen home of this family.

J. S. Raber, an enterprising and well-to-do farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is a member of a widely known pioneer family of Missouri. He was born in Hickory county, Missouri in 1865, son of Daniel and Susanna (Nofzinger) Raber. The father was born in Baden, Germany May 2, 1825 and when about eleven years of age came to America and located in Ohio, where he grew to manhood and became a successful and prosperous farmer. Susanna (Nofzinger) Raber was one of the family of Nofzingers who emigrated from Germany in 1846 and settled in Ohio. In 1859, the Rabers moved from Ohio to Missouri and located in Hickory county, where at one time Mr. Raber owned nearly seven hundred acres of land and was extensively engaged in farming and stock raising. He sold his farm in Hickorv countv in 1890 and moved to Johnson county and settled on a farm in Rose Hill township, after residing a few years on a place near Holden. Mr. Raber and his son, S. W. Raber, bought a farm in Rose Hill township one mile south of Medford, where he lived until his death, October 24, 1905. A year later the mother went to Ohio to visit two daughters and one son and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Josie Rychner at Pettisville, Ohio, in March, 1917. Her body was brought back to Missouri and laid to rest by the side of the father's in the Mennonite cemetery. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom are now living. S. W. Raber, a capable and influential farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, is a brother of J. S. Raber, the subject of this review.

In 1888, J. S. Raber came to Johnson county with a capital of fourteen dollars and forty cents, with which to begin business. He and his brother, D. B. Raber, formed a partnership and engaged in farming rented land for several years. J. S. Raber invested fifty cents in a plow, three dollars in a cultivator, and two dollars and sixty cents in a set of harness. He had remaining of his original fund but eight dollars and thirty cents, which he spent for feed. It was absolutely necessary that he have good crops that first year - and he did. In the course of time, by practicing rigid economy and constant industry, J. S. Raber began to prosper and to accumulate property. In 1901, he purchased one hundred twenty acres of land in Rose Hill township, upon which he built the ensuing year a comfortable, modern residence of eight rooms, supplied with hot and cold water, furnace, gasoline lights, and all the latest conveniences. The home is surrounded by large, beautiful trees and a well-kept lawn and is one of the attractive country places in the township. Forty acres of the Raber farm are in grass and meadow and this season, of 1917, fifty-five acres were in corn. Mr. Raber raises Duroc Jersey hogs and is just beginning to handle white face cattle. He owns six mares and is engaged in breeding mule colts. He makes it a point to raise enough feed for the stock that he has. He is a progressive, intelligent agriculturist and is working hard to build up the fertility of his land by crop rotation and fertilization.

In 1915, J. S. Raber and Ellen S. Yoder were united in marriage. Mrs. Raber is a daughter of Levi and Susanna Yoder, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. By a former marriage with Laura Slabach, in 1893, J. S. Raber is the father of two children: Nellie

Marie and Ralph D. Their mother died in 1912. For many years, Mr. Raber has been a member of the school board and a township committeeman. He is affiliated with the Republican party. Mr. Raber is a worthy member of the Methodist church, of which he has been a valued steward, trustee, and at one time Sunday School superintendent. The Raber family is considered one of the best and most highly regarded families in Rose Hill township.

R. A. Famsworth, a prosperous and capable farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is the oldest child of a family of ten, members of a well-known and highly regarded pioneer family of Johnson county. He is a native of Missouri. Mr. Farnsworth was born in 1855 in Henry county, in a log cabin which stood on the banks of Noris creek. He is a son of C. L. and Nancy C. Farnsworth who were the parents of the following children: Air. Farnsworth, whose name introduces this sketch ; Mrs. Louisa J. Fowler, Enid, Oklahoma ; Mrs. Helen E. Hall, Longton, Kansas; Reason W., deceased; Mrs. Mary L. Parkhurst, Kinsley, Kansas; Mrs. Lucy A. Parkhurst, Hollywood, California; Albert A., Lutesville, Missouri; Mrs. Ida F. Duck, Urich, Missouri; Edna E. and Cyrus L., Blairstown, Missouri. In 1854, the father moved from Greene county, Tennessee to Missouri and in 1855 he came to Johnson county, where he engaged in farming for two years and then went to Cass county and entered three hundred twenty acres of land. When Order Number 11 was issued, C. L. Farnsworth was compelled to leave his homestead there and return to Johnson county. After the war closed, he sold his place in Cass county and purchased two hundred forty acres in this, Johnson county, and the rest of his life was spent on this farm where he was engaged in raising stock and in general farming. Mr. Farnsworth constantly added to his acreage and at the time of his death in ]\Iarch, 1909 owned fifteen hundred acres of valuable land in Johnson county. He was active to the very last and not for a day resigned his control of business matters. At the sale, held after his death when the estate was being settled, the stock he had on his farm brought more than four thousand dollars. For a man eighty years of age, this is an unusual record. He was a citizen of Johnson county worthy of the greatest respect and consideration.

R. A. Farnsworth obtained his education in the country schools of Cass and Johnson counties. He attended school held in a log cabin, having puncheon benches and a log left out on one side of the building for a window. "Billy" Busan was the teacher of this school, in Cass county. At the age of twenty-one years, Mr. Farnsworth purchased an interest in his father's stock and became associated in business with him, this arrangement continuing for five years. In 1881, the son bought a farm of one hundred twenty acres of land in Rose Hill township, for which place he paid three thousand dollars. His holdings have since increased and R. A. Farnsworth now is the owner of six hundred eighty-six acres of valuable farm land in Johnson county. He has in previous years been a very successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle, but recently he gave all his stock interests to his boys.

In 1877, R. A. Farnsworth was united in marriage with Mary Frances Snell, daughter of Z. Snell, a brave pioneer of Johnson county, coming here in 1867, when Mrs. Farnsworth was a child, eleven years of age. Mr. Snell settled on the John Shoup farm. Mrs. Farnsworth attended school held at Stout school house and when but a little girl would start out alone across the wide, unbroken prairie and follow the trail which led to the school. Mr. Summers was then employed as teacher and among her schoolmates were Mrs. Boston, nee Fulton, and Mrs. "Bill" Stout, who was then Jennie Colvin. To Mr. and Mrs. Farnsworth have been born seven children, five of whom are now living: S. A., Blairstown, Missouri; E. R., Urich, Missouri; Zella F., decea;sed; Grover C, deceased; Harrison F.. Blairstown, Missouri; James F. and Henry F., at home with their parents. Henry F. Farnsworth is now married and is building a beautiful bungalow. He and James F. are in partnership in the poultry business and in the past eight months, dating from the time of this writing, they have sold thirty-six hundred dozen eggs which brought them one thousand dollars.

When R. A. Farnsworth was a young man in his courting days, he never owned a buggy, and an auto was unheard of, but assisted the girl of his choice to mount behind him on his horse and would thus escort her in fine style any place she desired to go. The older people and little children traveled in farm wagons, but the young folks went on horseback, and everybody had a good time no matter how he got there. There were no roads and trails and directions were relied upon in traveling any distance. It was no easy matter to go from place to place in the early days when to go very far from home was dangerous, yet people were more sociable and hospitable in those days than now and they did much more visiting. The settlements were scattered and few. The prairie was a vast, unbroken, unfenced plain and wild game of all kinds abounded. 'Mr. Farnsworth has witnessed the gradual change from this state to the present condition, the change that has made Johnson county one of the garden spots of Missouri and he has nobly done his part in the county's upbuilding.

Mrs. Mary (Stigall) Surber, the highly esteemed widow of the late Alfred Surber, a successful and prosperous farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, has been a resident of Johnson county for the past forty years. Airs. Surber is a native of Kentucky, a daughter of F. Stigall. She was born in 1849.

In 1866, Alfred Surlier and Mary Stigall were united in marriage in Kentucky. Mr. Surber was a well-to-do and industrious farmer of that state and a Confederate veteran. He had met with splendid and deserved success in the South but, in 1877, believing that opportunities were greater in Missouri he desired to move to this state and in the same year the famil}- came to Johnson county and settled on a farm in Rose Hill township. On the place to which she then came, Mrs. Surber still is residing. To Alfred and Mary (Stigall) Surber were born eleven children, of whom the following are now living: John and David C, who are unmarried and make their home with their mother: Martha and Eula, both of whom are teachers and reside with their mother; Levi, ex-constable of Rose Hill township, who is married and resides on a farm in Johnson county: George, Garden City, Missouri; D. R., Garden City, Missouri: Mrs. Walter C. Elliott, Tyrone, Oklahoma; and Mrs. Walter S. Jackson, Holden, Missouri. John has charge of the home farm and David C. is in charge of the lumber yard at Medford. Martha is employed as teacher in the Garden City schools and Eula is employed at the home school at Doak school house.

Alfred Surlier was one of Johnson county's most worthy citizens. He lived to enjoy the new Western home but a score of years, nevertheless in that length of time Air. Surber became widely known and respected. In twenty years, he established a name and reputation in this section of Alissouri which was the synonym for honesty and uprightness, a name that his children may well be proud to bear. Mr. Surber was a consistent antl highly regarded member of the Christian church, a truly Christian gentleman. He died in 1897.

coin county in 1869, son of Alfred and Mary L. Surber. Mr. and Mrs. Surber were the parents of eleven children and since the death of Mr. Surber in 1897 the mother and two sons, John and David C, have continued to reside on the home place to which they came in 1877. A biography of Mrs. Mary (Stigall) Surber giving a more comprehensive sketch of the Surber family appears elsewhere in this volume.

At Doak school house in Rose Hill township, David C. Surber obtained his education. While he was a schoolboy, Lute Umstadt, James Moore, and Caleb Barton were employed as teachers of Doak school. Mr. Surber has heard many of the pioneer preachers among whom he recalls: Reverends Givens, Osborn, and Limbaugh. David C. Surber was reared on the farm and he has spent most of his life engaged in the pursuits of agriculture. Until 1907, he was farming on the home place. At that time he entered the employ of Hooker Elmore, who owns lumber yards at Holden and Medford and for the past ten years Mr. Surber has been engaged in the lumber business at Medford. In 1915, he was elected justice of the peace of Rose Hill township and he is filling this oifice also at the time of this writing, in 1917. Squire Surber has given and is giving the best of satisfaction as justice and he is considered one of the most valued men of the community.

The lumber yards at Holden and Medford are well supplied with lumber, paints, hardware, and all things needed in the lumber business. Within the last year, practically all lumber supplies have nearly doubled in price. Mr. Surber transacts the business of justice of the peace in the ofilice at the lumber yard at Medford. He is a gentleman of kindly, genial manners, a citizen of Johnson county of genuine worth. Mr. Surber is unmarried and makes his home with his widowed mother on the farm in Rose Hill township.

C. H. Harris, Jr., a capable and industrious farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is a native of Johnson county. He was born in 1861, a son of C. H., Sr. and Lucinda (Barton) Harris. The Harris family is one of the first families of Johnson county.

Amid the scenes of pioneer life and reconstruction, C. H. Harris passed the days of his youth. He attended school in that part of Cass county, which was afterward made a part of Johnson county. When a lad he frequently went to Holden for provisions and on the way would pass but three homes. Trails and directions were relied upon in traveling for there were very few roads in the county until many years later. Traveling was dangerous in those days, but in proportion to the population there was much more of it done then than now. Everyone attended church and all the social gatherings and visiting were universally enjoyed.

In 1889, C. H. Harris, Jr. was united in marriage with Hulda B. Givens, daughter of Alec and Mary Givens, honored pioneers of Johnson county, coming to this section of the state in a very early day from Kentucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born two children a daughter, Laura Gertrude, who was one of the county's valued school teachers: and a son. Alec Hutson. who died in infancy. Mrs. Harris died in 1894 and Miss Laura is keeping house for her father. Mrs. Harris was a highly regarded and worthy member of the Presbyterian church, as is Mr. Harris.

The Harris farm in Rose Hill township comprises one hundred thirty-one acres of land, abundantly watered, well located and nicely improved. This past season of 1917 Mr. Harris had forty-eight acres of his place in corn, yielding a fine crop.

J. C. Harris a progressive farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is a member of a well-known and respected pioneer family. He is a son of C. H., Sr., and Hulda (Collins) Harris. The paternal grandfather of J. C. Harris settled in Johnson county many years prior to the Civil War. His mother was a daughter of a family that came to Missouri from Kentucky in the earliest days. C. H. Harris. Sr., was a capable and enterprising stockman and became very well-to-do. owning at one time two hundred twenty-three acres of choice farm land in Johnson county. Mr. Harris was an active Democrat and one of the most reliable and earnest of men. He always worked for the interests of the Cockrells whom he held in the highest esteem. C. H. Harris, Sr., died in 1880. He was a citizen of Johnson county highly valued for his sterling integrity and high sense of justice and honor and his loss to the good citizenship of the county has been long deeply deplored. Mrs. Harris had preceded her husband in death many years before.

In early youth, Mr. Harris began working for himself and the first money he ever had was made by "hiring out." He began loaning money, on a small scale of course, and with this as a basis made a business deal whereby he acquired his present fine country home. The Harris farm embraces one hundred twenty acres of land on which 'Mr. Harris is raising good grade cattle and Poland China hogs.

In 1880, J. C. Harris was united in marriage with Ella Duncan, daughter of Captain Lee Duncan and to this union were born two sons: Charles L., Gunn City, Missouri ; and Joseph A., Gunn City, jNIissouri. Mrs. Harris died and in 1889 Mr. Harris remarried. Mrs. J. C. Harris is a daughter of Alec and Mary Givens who came from Kentucky to Johnson county in a very early day. To J. C. and Mary E. (Givens) Harris has been born one child, a daughter, Mary Belle, who is now the wife of H. O. Smith, of St. Louis, Missouri.

When J. C. Harris was born in Johnson county in 1851, this section of Missouri was very sparsely settled. In his boyhood days, he was often called upon to assist in breaking sod and he used yokes of oxen in this work, often plowing with four yokes of oxen at a time. Wild game abounded and the present flourishing city of Holden was then a very small place. The early settlers traveled along trails and by direction as the roads in the county were not built until in the eighties.

Mr. Harris is one of Rose Hill township's best and most careful farmers. He keeps close watch on his soil and on the gullies and ditches, which he fills as soon as they are discovered. He is an enthusiastic advocate of the use of fertilizer. He and Mrs. Harris are widely known and esteemed in Johnson county.

M. R. Snyder, a prosperous and influential farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is a member of one of the first families of Henry county, Missouri. He was born in 1866, a son of Rudolph and Mary Snyder, both of whom were born in Germany and emigrated from the old country in youth. They were the parents of four children who are now living: Mrs. Mary Aeker, Weaubleau, Missouri: J. D., Lowry City, Missouri: M. R., the subject of this review: and J. F., Brownington, Missouri. Rudolph Snyder was a wealthy stockman of Henry county, where he owned extensive land interests. He died in 1889. The mother is also deceased.

In the public schools of Henry county, M. R. Snyder obtained his education. He was born and reared on the farm in that county and in early manhood began life for himself engaged in the vocations of farming and stock raising. In 1893, ]\Ir. Snyder came to Johnson county and purchased one hundred twenty acres of land located in Rose Hill township, which tract is a part of his present farm of three hundred ten acres. The Snyder place is well located and nicely improved, being well equipped for handling stock. Sixty acres of the farm were in corn this past season, of 1917. In 1898, Mr. Snyder built a handsome residence, a house of eight rooms, which is their present home.

In 1891, M. R. Snyder was united in marriage with Anna Schlabach, daughter of Joseph and Barbara Schlabach of French lineage. To this union have been born four children: J. L., Ada, Helen, and Elizabeth, all of whom are at home with their parents. Mr. and ]\Irs. Snyder have a host of friends in Johnson county, where they have made their home for the past twenty-five years. Politically, JMr. Snyder is a Republican. He is a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been steward for several years.

John A. Thompson, a well-known anil respected farmer and stockman of Centerview township, is a son of a well-remembered and honored pioneer family. He is a son of Josiah and Elizabeth Thompson and was born in 1850. Allen Thompson, grandfather of John A., was a well-to-do farmer of Pennsylvania and from that state, Josiah Thompson came with his family and settled on a farm in Centerview township, Johnson county, in 1867. He was a minister of the United Presbyterian church and in the early days organized a church of this denomination in Johnson county, and in his belief died in 1907. John A. Thompson has living one brother. George, whose home is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1850, in Washington county, Pennsylvania. John A. Thompson was born. He was reared in that state and at the age of seventeen years came with his parents to Missouri. For some time, he was a student at Lincoln Institute at Greenwood. Early in life he began farming and stock raising, pursuits in wliich he has ever since been interested and engaged. He now resides in Centerview, where he owns several town lots and a nice, comfortable home, but on a small tract of land south of town he is still raising stock. Mr. Thompson devotes most of his attention to hogs and to growing alfalfa. Reverend Josiah Thompson, father of John A., introduced alfalfa in this part of the country. For the past tw^enty years, Mr. Thompson has been a resident of Centerview.

Porter, daughter of Samuel Porter, of Ohio. To this union have been born three children: Labertha, the wife of Mr. Graham, of Centerview, Missouri and the mother of one child, a son. Porter; and Mary, the wife of Mr. Porter, of Jefferson City, being the only two now living, of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson.

Interesting reminiscences are stored in the remarkable memory of Mr. Thompson and he talks in an entertaining way of the days gone by, when there were vast tracts of unfenced and unbroken land in Missouri and cattle were permitted to roam over the wide prairie. Oxen were used to aid in breaking sod and one often saw a yoke of oxen and a team of horses hitched together. Wild game abounded and travel was difficult because of the lack of any roads. The trails at time became impassable. For the first two or three years after his family had moved to Missouri, young John A. spent many lonely hours. Settlements were so very far apart that he had few young friends or acquaintances at first, but later there were many social gatherings to attend and his youth was spent more happily. For a long time the Thompson family lived in a house of two rooms, which the father built when he first came to Johnson county. Reverend Josiah Thompson and "Uncle Jacky" Whitsett were prominent among the early preachers. Centerview was then only a "half-switch," with not one building. Of the first families who came to this county from the East at that time there now remain but representatives of two, the Ozias and the Repp families.

Mr. Thompson is an intelligent, industrious citizen, a man who has done much to aid in the upbuilding and improvement of his township and county.

B. D. McKay, a successful and prosperous farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is a native of Wisconsin. He was born in 1861, a son of George and Jessie (McDonald) McKay both of whom were of Scotch descent. Mrs. McKay was a daughter of James McDonald; an emigrant from Scotland who settled in Wisconsin in the early days. B. D. McKay has in his possession the naturalization papers taken out by his father, in which it is prominently designated that he promised especially "to be loyal to the United States against Queen Victoria of England." George McI'Cay emigrated from Scotland in 1836 and located first in Illinois. His first work in America was on a canal. He and iiis three brothers settled on adjoining tracts of land in \\'isconsin and Mr. McKay owned the first building having a shingled roof in the township. He sold his interests in Wisconsin in 1878 and moved to Johnson county Missouri, purchasing a farm in Rose Hill township, where he died one year later, in 1879. Mrs. McKay survived her husband thirty-six years. She died in 1915.

For six years after his father's death, Mr. McKay continued to reside on the home farm in Rose Hill township, engaged in general farming and stock raising, and then he moved to Holden, Missouri. His only brother, who was employed in teaching school in Johnson county for several years, is now located on a ranch in Arizona. Mr. McKay has three sisters living: Mary A., who resides in Nebraska; Jessie, Tama City, Iowa; and Mrs. Amanda Coleman, Latour, Missouri. Mr. McKay states that when he and his brother were young lads, they were often put to work cutting hay out on the open prairie. He recalls the time in Johnson county when a buggy was unknown and has attended funerals when there were horses and wagons, used as automobiles are now. Cattle ran at large over the prairie and it was no small or easy task to "drive up" the cows in the evening.

In 1888, B. D. McKay purchased one hundred sixty acres of land in Rose Hill township and in 1907 built a handsome residence, a house of nine rooms, and a large barn. Later, Mr. McKay added a feeder to the splendid improvements then on his place. The farm is now well equipped with numerous farm buildings and supplied with an abundance of running water. Mr. McKay has equipment for one hundred head of cattle and a large herd of horses. He has at present, in 1917, one hundred four head of Shorthorn cattle and seventy head of Poland China hogs. He harvested one hundred fifty tons of hay this past season of 1917 and planted twenty acres of the place in wheat last autumn. The McKay farm now comprises four hundred acres, two hundred forty acres owned bj' B. D. McKay, nad the remainder owned by other members of the family.

In September, 1915, B. D. McKay and Emma E. lirle, of Warrensburg, were united in marriage. Mrs. McKay is of German descent. Politically, Mr. McKay is a Democrat. He is a worthy and consistent member of the Catholic church. Both Mr. and Mrs. McKay are highly regarded in their community and they are numbered among the county's valued and substantial families.

stockman of Columbus township is a member of one of the fine old pioneer families of Johnson county. Mr. Murray was born in 1852 on his father's country place in Johnson county, a son of W. W. and Margaret A. (Rice) Murray. W. W. Murray was a son of Urial Murray, of Irish lineage, a native of Tennessee, who came to Johnson county among the very first settlers. Urial Murray was born in 1773 and he was a typical Southern gentleman, kind, hospitable, and prosperous. He was the owner of more than a thousand acres of land in this county and a well-known stockman. He devoted most of his attention to speculating in mules and in the years following his coming West became very wealthy. At the time of the rush to the gold field, newly discovered in California, Urial Murray left his farm and sought the golden treasure. This was in 1849. Mr. Murray did not share the fortune of the thousands who died on the way - rather the misfortune - but lived to return home with a large pouch filled with gold. Thomas P. Murray still has in his possession as a valued relic this old leather bag which formerly belonged to his grandfather. The elder Murray raised hemp extensively and became very well-to-do and prominent. Before the time of Warrensburg, when the county court was held at Columbus, Urial Murray was elected county judge, among the first to fill this office. He died in 1853 and his loss to the good citizenship of the county was universally mourned.

W. W. Murray, the father of the subject of this review, was born in Missouri in 1824. He was given a most thorough education, considering his time. He attended school in Lexington, Missouri, and was a graduate of Chapel Hill College. In 1847, W. W". Murray and Margaret Angeline Rice, daughter of Pleasant Rice, the first settler of Johnson county, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, were united in marriage. Margaret Angeline (Rice) Murray, daughter of Pleasant and Verlinda Ann (Ray) Rice, was born April 7, 1829, the first white child born in Johnson county. Margaret A. (Rice) Murray was a strong, sturdy child and very attractive to the Indians, who haunted the neighborhood, to whom the little white girl was something of a marvelous mystery and several times she was stolen by them. To W. W. and Margaret A. Murray were born six children, two of whom are now living: Thomas P., the subject of this review; and Bettie P., Holden, Missouri.

borhood of the INIurray home. His first instructor was Miss Dora Morrow and later he was taught by Mr. Griffith and John McGivens. Mr. Murray recalls several of the early-day preachers, among whom Avere "Uncle Bob" Morrow, Reverends Albert Moore and Prather. In early manhood. Mr. Murray began life for himself at the old homestead, engaged extensively in stock raising. He now owns two hundred seven acres of valuable land, which are well improved and watered. He harvested this past season of 1917, seven hundred bushels of wheat and six hundred fifty bushels of oats, in addition to having seventy acres of the farm in corn land. Mr. Murray planted eighty acres in wheat last autumn. He is raising Poland China hogs. There is a coal mine on the farm and from eight to ten thousand bushels of coal are taken out annually. During the busy season, from two to five men are daily employed in the mine. Afr. Afurra^'s two sons, Nicholas and Porter, have the active supervision of the farm work and they are making a splendid success of stock raising and farming.

In 1877, Thomas P. Murray was united in marriage with Sallie Fulkerson, daughter of John H. and Henrietta (Ewing) Fulkerson, and to this union have been born eight children: Finis E., Holden, Missouri; Mrs. H. M. Fortney, Holden, Missouri; Mrs. Angeline P. Prather, Odessa, Missouri ; Mrs. Ethel A. Simonds, Crosstimbers, Missouri; Mrs. Lucy Lee Miller, Pittsville, Missouri; William P., Holden. Missouri ; John H., Holden, Missouri ; and Nicholas F., Holden, Missouri.

Sixty-five years ago, Thomas P. Murray was born in Johnson countv. He has always lived here and during the past half century has witnessed the innumerable changes which have come with time, growth, and progress. He remembers when there were three houses only between his father's home and Holden. a distance of ten miles. Prairie chickens, wild turkeys, and deer abounded and Mr. IMurray recalls that once in his boyhood days he saw at one time deer, turkeys, wild geese, cranes, ducks, and prairie chickens. Mr. and Mrs. Murray have long been highly regarded by the best families of Johnson county and enrolled among the township's most worthy and estimable citizens.

W. T. Browning, a representative of a sturdy pioneer family of Johnson county, Missouri, is a citizen of Columbus township, who is honored and respected by all who know him. Mr. Browning is a native of Kentuckv. He was born in 1848 in Adair county, a son of William

D. and C. A. (Atkinson) Browning. William D. Browning was a son of John Browning, a native Virginian wdio in early colonial days moved from his plantation home in Virginia to Kentucky and in that state reared and educated his family of children. The name Browning suggests English origin and, though the lineage of W. T. Browning has not been traced to his first known ancestors, there is much probability that this particular family of Brownings is connected with the family in England that produced the famous poet, Robert Browning. William D. Browning, the father of W. T. Browning, the subject of this review, was born in Virginia. During the Civil War, his eldest son, J. J., had an opportunity to visit the birthplace of his father and he experienced no difficulty in finding the old Browning homestead, for the home was still standing though almost completely hidden from view by a dense growth of pines. At that time, the old corn rows on the plantation could yet be plainly discerned. William D. Browning had been exceptionally well educated for one of his day. He was a student in college at Richmond, Virginia, prior to his marriage with Miss Atkinson. In 1852, he came with his wife and children to Missouri and first located in Jackson county. Two years later the Brownings moved to Johnson county and settled on a farm of two hundred acres of land, which Mr. Browning purchased from the Greer estate. He engaged in farming and in addition taught music in this and adjoining counties. To William D. and C. A. Browning were born four sons, who are now living: J. J., Kansas City, Missouri; D. B., Lela, Noble county, Oklahoma; W^ T., the subject of this review; and W. W., Plainview, Texas. Father and mother have long been deceased. Their genial social qualities won for Mr. and Mrs. Browning a large number of friends in the West and Mr. Browning's honorable business dealings established for him an enviable reputation in commercial circles. Measured by the standard of dollars and cents his success in life was above the average of the early settlers, while in the essential qualities of upright manhood and the requisites of intelligent and progressive citizenship, William D. Browning held rank with the best and most enterprising men of Johnson county.

Mr. Millspaugh was employed as teacher at Coleman school house in Johnson county, when the boy, W. T. Browning, entered upon his school career. Miss Maggie Geter was afterward one of Mr. Browning's instructors, while he was attending the same school. Mr. Brown- ing relates many interesting and amusing experiences of his boyhood days. As a youth, he was frequently sent to the Hall mill, which was located on Blackwater. and would be obliged to wait over night for his grist. The county was largely open prairie and there were no roads but trails led in all directions, ^^'ild game could be found in abundance. He recalls the first circus that came to Columbus, with its calliope, elephant, and monkeys. The Browning lad attended the performance and saw for the first time an elephant. For him, the steam calliope possessed a peculiar fascination. In his own words, the efifect the music had upon the impressionable child, is summed up, "It set me crazy!" The Brownings used to attend church in a wagon drawn by oxen. \\\ T. Browning raised three excellent crops with the sole assistance of old "Bill." ploughing single, ^^"ith an ox-wagon, Mr Browning used to go to Lexington for supplies. It required three days to make the trip. At one time, he sold bacon in the Lexington market for two cents a pound. The night that the first train on the Missouri Pacific railroad was run in Johnson county. Mr. Browning was out hunting with a band of hunters. These are only a few of the delightful reminiscences, with which the remarkable memory of \\'. T. Browning is stored.

In early manhood, Mr. Browning began life for himself engaged in farming and stock raising. He saved five hundred dollars from his earnings in sawing timber, farming, and stock raising and then left Missouri and went to Texas. In that state, he remained several months and in 1871 returned to Johnson county, where he has made his home continuously since. Mr. Browning is now owner of two hundred fiftyeight acres of land, well watered and nicely improved. The Browning residence is a pleasant country home, a house of seven rooms. The past season, of 1917, Mr. Browning had forty acres of the farm in corn and he harvested twenty tons of hay.

In 1874, W. T. Browning and Ida \^ Hook, of Lafayette county. Missouri, were united in marriage and to this union have been born four sons: E. G. and O. L.. both of whom reside on ranches in Montana; W. M.. Glasgow. ^Montana: and T. A., Kansas City, Missouri. Several years after the death of his first wife. Ida V. (Hook) Browning, Mr. Browning was married to Anna E. Stanton, of Andrew county, Missouri, and to them have been born five children, three sons and two daughters: W. S., A. B., Mrs. PauHne Rider, W. R., and Mrs. Ruth E.

Politically, W. T. Browning has always been a firm and uncompromising Democrat and he has ever taken a keen interest in the trend of public questions and events. Although numbered among the well-to-do citizens of Johnson county, Mr. Browning is one of the most unostentatious of men, openhearted and candid in manner, retaining in his demeanor the candor and courtesy of the olden-time Southern gentleman. Such is, in brief, the life history of one who has indelibly stamped the impress of his own strong personality on the growth and development of his community where so many years of his long life have been spent. His record will stand as a lasting monument in the years to come when his labors are ended and his name has become a precious memory.

W. P. Halley, a worthy representative of an honored and respected pioneer family of Saline county Missouri, is one of the most capable and enterprising agriculturists of Columbus township. He was born in October, 1868 in Saline county, a son of J. A. and Susan E. Halley. Mr. and Mrs. Halley, the parents of W. P., the subject of this review, were noble types of the sturdy pioneer, citizens of broad humanitarian principles, earnest purposes, clean, moral lives. They did all in their power to uplift their fellowmen and promote the welfare of the community in which they had settled. The Halleys were widely known and respected for their genuine worth.

In the common schools of Saline county, W. P. Halley obtained his early education. Later, he attended business college and completed the course in the commercial school located at Stanberry, Missouri in Gentry county. After leaving school, Mr. Halley began life for himself on the farm in Saline county. He moved thence in 1905 to his present country home in Columbus township, Johnson county. The Halley farm comprises two hundred sixty-four acres of land, the original purchase, and one hundred six acres purchased in 1915, in all, three hundred seventy acres of some of the best farm land in this section of the state. The place is supplied with an abundance of water and, having four large barns, is well equipped for handling stock. At the time of this writing, in 1917, Mr. Halley has forty head of high grade cattle, seventy head of sheep, and one hundred thirty head of pure-bred black Poland China hogs. He has a registered male at the head of the herd of hogs. He has had excellent success in stock raising and also in general farming, harvesting, this past season of 1917, eleven hundred bushels of wheat, six hundred bushels of oats, and fifteen tons of hay and in addition had ninety acres of the farm in corn. i\Ir. Halley has planted one hundred thirty acres of the place in winter wheat. He is a progressive and well-informed farmer and he is doing all in his power to bring the soil up to a high state of cultivation, rotating his crops, planting clover, pasturing the land, and keeping his manure spreader constantly working. Mr. Halley has been very successful also in growing alfalfa and he is an enthusiastic advocate of this crop. In 1911, he built the present residence, a nine-room structure, comfortably arranged and modern throughout.

In 1894, W. P. Halley and Clara May Lewis, daughter of J. A Lewis, of Saline county, were united in marriage and to this union have been born tliree sons: Morris P., Elmer L., and William Alfred, all of whom are at home with their parents. The two oldest sons, Morris P. and Elmer L., are associated with their father in farming and stock raising. William Alfred is attending school at Odessa, Missouri.

Mr. Halley is one of the comparatively recent arrivals in Johnson county, having located here twelve years ago, yet he has already taken a place among the leading and influential citizens of his township. He believes in progress and is sparing no trouble or expense in a laudable efifort to make his farm one of the best in the county. He prosecutes his farm work according to the most advanced methods of modern agriculture and personally he enjoys a large measure of popularity. By a careful observance of the ethics of life Mr. and Mrs. Halley have secured for themselves the kind regard and highest respect of all their neighbors and fellowcitizens in Columbus township.

Dr. W. B. Turnbow a prominent physician of Johnson county residing at Pittsville, Missouri, is a native of Kentucky. He was born in 1862 in Graves county, a son of Thomas JefYerson, Jr. and Mary (Cochrum) Turnbow, the former, a son of Thomas Jefferson Turnbow. Sr., an early-day teamster and the latter, a daughter of Bannester Cochrum, a well-known and prosperous farmer of Calloway county, Kentucky. Thomas Jefiferson Turnbow, Sr. was a leading stockman of Kentucky and a man of much civic pride and public spirit. He assisted in staking out the road from Paducah in McCracken county to Calloway county

Doctor Turnbow is a graduate of the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, which is the oldest medical college in the state. After completing his college work in Ohio, Doctor Turnbow returned to his native state and began the practice of his profession at Linville, Graves county, moving his office later to Pilotoak in Graves county. In 1891, the doctor obtained his medical degree and after practicing medicine eighteen years in Kentucky, he moved to ^Missouri and in 1909 located his office at Holden. One year afterward he moved to Pittsville, Missouri, where he has continued to reside for the past eight years, engaged in active practice. The doctor has calls for his services eight and ten miles from the city, but with his Ford it is only a few moments until he is at the most distant patient's bedside.

In addition to his large, handsome residence, a house of ten rooms, in Pittsville, Doctor Turnbow owns a small tract of land comprising ten acres and he is keenly interested in stock raising. His grandfather was a lover of animals and probably the doctor has inherited his interest. All his spare moments are given to attending to the care of his fine Poland Chinas and to a flock of twenty-five geese, his Plymouth Rock chickens, and the Jersey cows on his little farm. Doctor Turnbow has a pond for his geese and he sells them at ten dollars a pair.

In 1891, Dr. W. B. Turnbow was united in marriage with Martha J. Seay, of Graves county, Kentucky, and to them have been born seven chidren, six of whom are now living: Lloyd Jefferson, Pittsville, Missouri; Thomas S., Holden, Missouri; William B., Jr., Pittsv'ille, Missouri; Mary C, Ruby Ann, and Joseph C, at home with their parents. The two oldest sons are now married and are engaged in farming in Johnson county.

Doctor and Mrs. Turnbow are meml^ers of the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints and services are frequently held at their home. The meetings are well attended and Rev. L. E. Hills and other widelyknown ministers conduct the devotional exercises. Doctor Turnbow is a valued member of the Odd Fellows and, politically, he is a Democrat.

R. D. Bradley and R. J. Bradley, widely known througliout this section of Missouri as the "Bradley l)oys," are sons of F. M. and Ellen (Fulkerson) Bradley, who were well-known and highly respected pio- neers of Missouri, among the first and best of the early settlers of Johnson county. F. :M. Bradley was born in Kentucky in 1827, a son of Richard T. Bradley, a veteran of the Revolution of 1776. His mother was a daughter of Jonathan Baker, a leading colonist of the early days. Richard T. Bradley was one of the body of troops sent to Florida in 1817 under General Andrew Jackson to quell the Seminole Indians and the border warfare there. In 1829, the Bradleys came to Missouri and settled on Spanish Oak. The son, F. M., was then a child two years of age. Richard T. Bradley engaged in the stock business extensively and became very prosperous. He died in 1868 and five years later was followed in death by his wife, one of the noblest of the pioneer women. She, too, was a native of Kentucky.

F. M. Bradley was reared in Johnson county. He remained with his parents until he attained maturity ad then entered the stock business for himself. He entered a large tract of land from the government and was the owner, at one time, of four hundred acres of valuable land. His sons, R. D., and R. J., now reside at the old homestead of the Bradleys. F. M. Bradley was united in marriage with Ellen Fulkerson, daughter of Reuben Fulkerson, a member of one of the oldest families of Missouri. To this union were born three children, who are now living: Alice Stonewall, who resides in Nevada; R. D. and R. J., subjects of this review. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Bradley experienced not only the trials of pioneer life but also the sorrows of war. Their home was burned to the ground during the Civil \\'ar. The father died in 1902 and three years later Mrs. Bradley joined him in death. Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Bradley were numbered among the county's l^est citizens and a multitude of friends in Johnson county have mourned their loss.

R. D. Bradley was born June 10, 1872. and in September of the following year his brother. R. J., was born on the home place in Johnson county. With the exception of two years' residence in Holden, the brothers have alwavs lived at the Bradley homestead. They have managed the farm since they were small boys and cared for the stock when they were sixteen and fourteen years oid, respectively. The Bradley brothers are recognized as expert stockmen far beyond the confines of Johnson county. At the present time, in 1917, they are raising and feeding a large number of cattle, mules, and hogs, although their herds are not so large now as formerly. R. D. Bradley owns one hundred twenty acres and R. J. Bradley one hundred sixty acres of the home place and, in addition, they manage the land owned by their sister, Alice. They have the place in excellent condition and repair and recently fenced the entire farm with woven wire fencing. Both R. D. and R. J. Bradley are stanch Democrats and good, substantial citizens of Johnson county.

John P. Ayler and William H. Ayler, proprietors of the "Lincoln Valley Stock Farm" in Jackson township, are the sons of Ernestus and Sarah (Mills) Ayler, well-remembered and respected pioneers of Johnson county. Ernestus Ayler was born in Germany. The name Ayler suggests Teutonic origin. In the fatherland, Ernestus Ayler grew to manhood and was educated near the place of his birth. The industrial conditions of his native land being unfavorable for a young man of ambition, such as he, and having heard and read of the great country, abounding in better opportunities, which lay beyond the sea, to which so many of his countrymen had immigrated, Mr. Ayler determined to leave Germany and embark for the new world. At the age of twenty-one years, he was engaged in teaching school in America. Later, he abandoned the teaching profession and entered the packing house business, from which he was obliged to retire within a short time on account of deafness, an affliction that befell him in early manhood. He then purchased a farm in Indiana, which place he sold after a few years and thence moved to Johnson county, Missouri, in 1856. Before coming West, Ernestus Ayler and Sarah Mills were married. To them were born seven children, six of whom are now living: A. S., who resides in New Mexico; P. B., Kingsville, Missouri; Mrs. Rhoda Hennings, Holden, Missouri; John P. and William H., the subjects of this review; and Mrs. Sarah Mills, Holden, Missouri.

Ernestus Ayler purchased a farm of two hundred acres of the choicest land in Johnson county in 1856 for ten dollars an acre. He farmed extensively and was especially fortunate in stock raising. Mr. Ayler had been thoroughly educated in his native land and all his life was a constant reader, keen thinker, and intelligent observer. He made a specialty of handling stock and in his day in Johnson county the stockman was permitted unlimited grazing territory. Mr. Ayler spent two years in Kansas and at the time he was there, during the Civil War period, he saw the raid made by Ouan^rill and his men. When he returned to his home in Missouri, he found havoc and destruction where he had left a well-improved farm. Not a fence, or vestige of one, could be found on the entire place. All had been burned by the enemy at some time during the absence of the owner. Indefatigably, Mr. Ayler set to work to begin anew and his efforts were crowned with deserved success and prosperity. The end of a long life of tireless activity came in January, 1905. The life of Ernestus Ayler has furnished evidence in proof of the truth of the old adage, which states that, "Success is not the result of genius, but the outcome of clear judgment and practical experience."

John P. Ayler was born in Johnson county in 1857 and William H. Ayler was born in 1859. The Ayler boys attended the school held at Lincoln school house, where Alilo Martin was employed as teacher when they began their educational career. When they were lads in their teens, there was still much open prairie land in this county and timber was plentiful along the streams. The two young brothers used to furnish the timber and split logs to sell the rails for one dollar a hundred. There are rails yet, on their farm, which were split by them in their boyhood days. The .\yler ])rothers jointly own a valuable farm comprising four hundred eighty-seven acres of land in Jackson township, a place widely known as "Lincoln X'alley Stock Farm," where they are engaged in raising jacks, stallions, and mules, extensively. They also have a number of good Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. The past season of 1917, the Ayler boys harvested one hundred sixty tons of hay and twelve hundred bushels of oats and they had ten acres of the farm in wheat and nearly one hundred acres in corn. The place is abundantly watered and nicely improved. Their home is a pleasant, comfortable residence and there are numerous, commodious barns and other needed farm buildings on the farm. John P. and William H. Ayler are both unmarried.

Beginning life as railsplitters, even as the immortal Lincoln, the Ayler boys have persistently pushed forward and upward until they are now the proprietors of one of the most valuable farms in the state. Descendants of sterling pioneer ancestry, John P. and William H. Ayler are distinctively representative of the best husbandmen of Johnson county. The Ayler brothers have always Ijeen firm, uncompromising Republicans. Though both take a deep interest in public and political affairs neither has ever pursued the chimera of political prestige.