Linn County, Missouri - Biographical sketches, 1912 (part 5 of 15)

During Commodore Perry's stay at the island the doctor was of great service to him as an interpreter, and through the commodore's friendship secured a safer footing with the authorities and greater freedom in his missionary work. After a residence of nine years in his Oriental home he brought his family to this country, taking passage on a sailing vessel bound for New York. It took nine months to make the voyage, and near the end of it the ship was wrecked in the neighborhood of the Bermudas. No lives were lost, however, and the Bettelheim family reached its destination in safety, and lived in New York three years thereafter.

At the end of the period mentioned the family moved to Pontiac, Illinois, and after living there ten years, came to Brookfield in 1868. Here the father died in 1870 and the mother in 1873. As is not unusual with the people of his native land, the doctor was an accomplished linguiet, being able to speak and write fluently in twenty-six different languages at the time of his death. He was also a gentleman of fine social culture, high character and a stern sense of duty which made him very zealous in everything he undertook to do. The people of this country respected him highly, and in all the relations of life he proved himself worthy of all the regard they bestowed upon him.

Bernard J. G. Bettelheim was twenty-three years of age when he came to Brookfield with his parents. Notwithstanding his numerous changes of residence and the unfavorable circumstances under which he passed his childhood, his education was carefully attended to, and he became an accomplished man in scholastic attainments, and was also thoroughly trained for business. He was not long in the city before he was launched on the fitful sea of mercantile life, and then, for nearly forty-two years, he was active, and during the greater part of the time one of the leaders in the business world of this part of the state. A few years before his death he gave up the active management of his business interests to his sons and passed the remainder of his days in comparative freedom from labor and care, enjoying a rest he had richly earned.

On December 26, 1870, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Eliza Eoberts, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. F. Eoberts, early settlers in Brookfield and accounted as among its most worthy and estimable citizens. Eight children were born of the union, five of whom are living: Dr. B. F., a resident of South Dakota; E. F., who lives in New Mexico; and A. E., Mrs. H. C. Pratt and Miss Florence, all of whom reside in Brookfield.

As has been intimated, Mr. Bettelheim's death was very sudden. It occurred in 1910, and without a moment's warning. During that dayhe was in the business section of the city and was apparently unusually well and in fine spirits. At four o'clock he went home, and sometime after arriving there, went out to do some chores about the place. When supper time approached and he did not return his daughter Florence went to look for him and found him lying dead in the back yard. His wife at the time was in Dakota.

The announcement of his death shrouded the whole county of Linn in gloom and was a source of universal grief. His remains were laid to rest in Eose Hill cemetery, whither they were accompanied by hosts of mourning friends and consigned to the tomb with every manifestation of popular esteem, the Masonic order, of which he had been an honored member, conducting the services at the grave. He has been greatly missed in religious and business circles, having been prominent in both during his long residence in Brookfield, and zealous in the service of all the interest involved in each, as he was in behalf of every worthy enterprise.

He was a gentleman of extensive and varied information and one of the most successful business men the city has ever known. He was, moreover, a man of great but unostentatious liberality toward every commendable purpose, and generous almost to a fault in private charity. His church was a large beneficiary of his bounty, and all other churches had the benefit of his liberal aid. In the language of the old Latin poet, he was a man, and nothing that was human was foreign to him. The city and county of his home will not soon look upon his like again, if they ever do. But they show that they were worthy of him by the appreciation in which they held him and the veneration in which they cherish his memory.

Richard T. Smither

Tried by hardship, privation, hourly peril in war, reverses and disappointments in business, and hope deferred in many ways, Richard T. Smither, one of the prominent and successful real estate dealers of Brookfield, has practically laughed in their faces and proven himself superior to them all. He has been regularly successful in his operations, even if there have been lapses at times and he has not always realized all he hoped for from his labors. In all circumstances and under all conditions he has been sustained by his own resourceful and self-reliant spii'it, and this has ever dared Fate to do her worst.

Mr. Smither is a Kentuckian by nativity, his life having begun on "The dark and bloody ground" at Mt. Sterling, Montgomery county, on April 1, 1849. His parents, Alexander and Cordelia (Hawkins) Smither, were also natives of Kentucky, and the latter died in that state in 1854. Soon after this sad event the father moved his children to Missouri, arriving in this state the same year his wife's death occurred, and located at Marion for a short time. From there he moved to Boone county, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying in that county. His forefathers were Tennesseeans, and early settlers in Kentucky. His father was a distiller and he a tailor. He and his wife were the parents of five children, all of whom are dead but Eiehard T.

Richard T. Smither grew to manhood in Jackson and Boone counties, and obtained a limited common school education in their schools. In 1863, when he was but fourteen years old, he enlisted in the Confederate army as a member of Strode 's Company A of sharpshooters, which was under the command of General Price. The young recruit remained in the service to the close of the sanguinary contest and participated in many of its principal engagements. He had a horse shot under him at Fulton, where the spirit was high and the fighting fierce, even though the battle did not last long or take rank among the great ones of the war.

Mr. Smither was mustered out of the service in May, 1865. and at once returned to his Boone county home, where he followed farming during the next ten years. He then clerked for a time at Clarksville in Pike county, and followed this experience by a period of ten years passed in business for himself in that county. In 1883 he moved to Linn county, located in Brookfield and opened a store in the hardware and implement trade, which he conducted for seventeen years.

His finger was ever on the pulse of progress and he kept in touch with the genius of improvement that has been for years doing so much to increase the power and add to the comfort and convenience of mankind. When the hour was ripe he united with others in founding the Electric Lighting Company and securing the erection and operation of its plant. This company has very largely engaged his attention and employed his faculties by its expanding business and growing demands.

He is now its president and guiding and controlling spirit, and he devotes himself almost wholly to its management. At the same time, he is zealous and energetic in his support of other public improvements, giving valuable and appreciated aid to every worthy undertaking for the advancement and betterment of his locality.

The public affairs of the city and county of his home also engage Ms interest in an effective way, and he does his part toward giving them proper trend and guidance. In political faith and adhesion he is connected with the Democratic party, but he has never desired or sought public office, although he has always been an active worker for the success of his party. In fraternal relations he is a devoted member of the Masonic order, with which he has been connected from his early manhood.

On June 14, 1877, he was married to Miss Sallie T. Ship, a daughter of T. B. and Sarah (Fisher) Ship, pioneers of Pike county. No children have been born of the union. Mr. and Mrs. Smither are widely known throughout the county, and everywhere they enjoy in a marked degree the confidence and regard of the whole people. They are known to be upright and useful citizens, representative of all that is most worthy and estimable in Linn county citizenship, and are esteemed in accordance with their demonstrated merit, and their agreeable social qualities, genuine benevolence and other admirable characteristics. Mrs. Smither is a faithful working member of the Presbyterian church, and prominent in all the activities of the congregation to which she belongs, and in which her membership is highly valued.

John B. Patrick

The versatility and ready adaptiveness of the American mind to all kinds of business, to all the requirements of official life, and to every demand of circumstances, whatever they may be, is so well known and has been so often illustrated by impressive examples and described in published narratives that it has become not only an oft-told, but almost a trite and well-worn tale. Yet, in some lives among us there are such specific features, and such unusual combinations that their story is worthy of detailed narrative, even though much that is told in them seems like tame and unprofitable repetition of general history.

Some of these specific features and unusual combinations are found in the career of John B. Patrick, of Laclede, this county. He is the leading hardware merchant, grocer and furniture dealer of the town.

He has been a farmer, a mercliant, a farmer again, the owner and manager of a livery barn and once more a merchant, and has made every line of endeavor in which he has engaged minister to his welfare and advancement and contribute to the general weal of the community in which he has operated.

Mr. Patrick was born in Livingston county, Missouri, on February 3, 1864, and is the son of John M. and Margaret (Warren) Patrick, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. The father was brought to Missouri in his boyhood by his parents, and passed his life in Livingston county. For a number of years he taught school, and then passed the rest of his life as a farmer. He died in 1867 at the age of fifty-five years, universally respected as a good man and useful and progressive citizen.

The mother was a daughter of Thomas Warren, a pioneer of Howard, Boone, Randolph and Livingston counties in this state, who died at Chillicothe, Livingston county, after many years of creditable living and usefulness as a merchant and farmer, leaving the mark of his influence in each of the four coimties named as one of the founders of their civilization and aids in establishing and building up their civil, educational and religious institutions of every kind, and giving character and tone to their citizenship.

Five children, two sons and four daughters, Avere born in the parental household of Mr. Patrick, of whom he and three of his sisters are living. Their mother survived their father twenty-nine years, passing away in 1896. She was ardent in her devotion to the welfare of her offspring and zealous in care and attention to them to the end of her days, and when she died full of years and with a long record of usefulness to her credit, she was one of the most revered matrons in the whole county of Linn.

John B. Patrick grew to manhood on his father's farm in Livingston county and obtained his education in the public schools near his home. After completing their course of study he followed farming until he reached the age of thirty years, then for ten years was engaged in the livery business and grocery trade at Wheeling in his native county. At the end of the period mentioned he returned to farming and adhered to it three years. But his fondness for mercantile life remained with him and kept insisting on attention, and in 1907 he yielded to its persuasive voice.

In that year he moved to Laclede and purchased the mercantile establishment of C. E. Hilton there, which he has ever since conducted. The business includes grocery, furniture and hardware departments, and also a cream station and cold storage room which is the largest in the county. He has given his business close and careful attention, pushing his trade to the limit of his opportunities, and making every effort in his power to keep pace with the progress of trade and the requirements of the community in which he operates, and all accounts agree in attesting that he succeeds admirably in these laudable designs.

But Mr. Patrick has not confined his interest in business and the welfare of the community to his merchandising operations. He has taken part in other institutions of value much to their benefit and the advantage of the people aroimd him generally. He is a stockholder in the Central States Life Insurance Company of St. Louis, and connected with other fiscal and promotive agencies in Laclede and elsewhere. He is a wide-awake and enterprising man, and always at the front in behalf of any worthy undertaking for the progress and improvement of his townshiiD and county.

On January 7, 1900, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Elva Thomas, a widow whose maiden name was Rickett and who was born in Ohio. She had one child by her former marriage, Elliott W. Thomas, who is still living with her and Mr. Patrick. At the time of her marriage she was a resident of Wheeling, Livingston count}', and there the marriage occurred. Mr. Patrick is a Democrat in politics but not an active partisan. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in religious affiliation is a devout member of the Christian Church. He is widely known throughout the county and is everywhere held in high esteem.

Rev. Calvin Allen

The record of a long life of faithful and self-sacrificing usefulness, of valuable services performed in many fields of labor, without present compensation or hope of future reward in a material way, is always a pleasing one to write, and it is also full of influence and incitement for good to those who read it. For the facts in the narrative, however crudely and imperfectly set forth, are in themselves suggestive and bear their own comment without the aid of word-painting or any of the embellishments of art.

A pleasing task of this nature is furnished the publishers of this work in the case of Rev. Calvin Allen, of Laclede, who is now in the eighty-fifth year of his age, retired from active pursuits, and able to share in the benefits of the civilization, industrial and mercantile con- ditions and moral, intellectual and social advantages he lias helped so materially to create and build up for the people of Linn county. His long day of toil and trial is over. He bore faithfully its heat and burden, and is now resting calmly and peacefully amid the mild glories of its late evening, with the fruits of his fidelity beaming around him on every side and contributing to his comfort and general happiness.

Mr. Allen was born near Paint Rock, Campbell county, Tennessee, on October 26, 1827, and moved to Indiana with his parents about the year 1836, when he was nine years old. The family located on a farm in Daviess county, in that state, and on that farm the son grew to manhood, obtaining what education he could get in the district school in the neighborhood of his home. Its course of instruction, however, was not sufficient to more than give him a start in mental training. His own reading and studies have since done the rest, and made him a very wellinformed and cultivated man.

In 1854, with his young wife and the children they then had, he came to Missouri, making the journey from his Indiana home with ox teams and experiencing many hardships and privations on the way, through portions of which every hour of the twenty-four was fraught with peril from Indians who were still roaming in their wild state in various localities along the route, and night was ever made hideous with the terrifying howls of beasts of prey in search of their predatory livelihood.

On his arrival in this state Mr. Allen took up government land in Grundy county, for which he paid seventy-five cents an acre, it being prairie land. The timber land to be had at the time sold at two dollars an acre, which was more than he could afford to pay. He remained in Grundy county engaged in farming four years, then entered the Missouri Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church on probation with a view to devoting the remainder of his life to preaching the gospel and doing pastoral work among the people of this region.

Mr. Allen's first appointment in the Christian ministry was to Albany circuit in Gentry county and two other counties in the same scope of territory. The circuit embraced the greater part of the three counties and had twenty-seven charges requiring attention. He found his work exacting, the claims on his time and energies exhausting, the recompense for his services in a worldly way so meager as to give him very little for pro\dsion for his family, and the prospect for improvement in the conditions next to nothing. But he was impelled by a high sense of duty and persevered in the arduous labor for twenty-three years.

He was first on probation fonr years, then reg'ularly in the ministry nineteen years, entering the conference in 1858 and being placed on its superannuated list for six years in 1881. In 1887 he was placed permanently on the superannuated list, and he still belongs to the Conference as a superannuated member, having been connected with the organization continuously for fifty-three years. He settled at Laclede in 1881, and has resided there ever since. While he still does ministerial work occasionally, he has not been regularly active in the harness for a long time, although he has never lost an iota of his interest in the labor.

In July, 1847, he was united in marriage with Miss Elvira Crook, a daughter of "Boss" Asa Crook, who was a Kentuckian by nativity. Six children were born of the union, only one of whom, Edmund B. Allen of Laclede, is now living. A sketch of his life will be found in this work. The mother died in Laclede on February 1, 1890. She was a noble pioneer woman, heroic in spirit, ready to undergo any labor, face any peril or endure any hardship for the benefit of her family, the good of the people with whom she mingled and associated, or the furtherance of the work in which her husband was engaged. Her memory is enshrined in the atfectionate regard of all who knew her, and the force of her example is still potential wherever she lived and exhibited her loftiness and strength of character.

The father, although a man of peace, and devoted to the spread of the doctrine of good will among men, has always had a high ideal of patriotism and been ardent in seeking to promote the welfare of his country. During the Civil war he was a member of the first regiment of enrolled militia in this state, which, when he joined it, was known as Colonel Kimball's Reserves, but is now usually designated as the Home Guards. In this organization he was always ready for field duty, if it should be required, and was faithful to every claim of the service, whatever was involved, meeting his obligations where the salvation of the Union was pi stal^e with the same high sense of duty that impelled him when the salvation of immoral souls was the supreme and impressive issue.

Rev. Calvin Allen has lived among the people of Linn county for thirty-seven years. His life among them during all of that period has been an open book, and it has not a stain on any of its pages. The residents in all parts of the county know him well, and there is not one in all their number that does not do him reverence. Although so far advanced in years, his body is still vigorous and active, his mind is strong and clear and his heart throbs as intensely for the good of humanity as ever. The burden of his years has stayed his once ready hand in its great activity, but nothing can dim the lustre of his deeds or take away anything from the admirable record he has made. He is approaching his "narrow house and his long sleep" attended by the veneration and loving esteem of all who know him, and the evening anthem of his long day is medolious with the tributes of approval which thousands to whom he has ministered bestow upon him. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace."

Jonathan J. Hendericks

For fifty-sis years Jonathan J. Hendericks, of Brookfield, has been a resident of Linn county, and during all of that long period has been connected directly or indirectly with its farming industry. He has been actively engaged in the real estate business during the last sixteen years, but even in connection with that he has been more or less in touch with the farming industry of the county, and may therefore be properly said to have been a farmer, or an adjunct to agricultural work from his boyhood to the present time (1912).

Mr. Hendericks is a native of Virginia, aud Avas born in Tazewell county in the Old Dominion on October 25, 1842. His parents were Mark and Sarah (Scott) Hendricks, also born in Virginia, the former in Montgomery and the latter in Tazewell county. The father was a blacksmith and also followed farming. In 1843 he determined to seek better opportunities than his state seemed to afford him on the virgin soil of the West, and loading his household goods on a wagon, started for Missouri overland. He did not get out of his native state, however, for death overtook him at Kanawha in that part of it which is now "West Virginia.

The mother returned to the old home with her young child, overwhelmed by her great bereavement, and without the nei've at the time to try her fortune alone in a new country so far from the friends and associations of her childhood, youth and young womanhood. She remained there eleven years, and was then seized with another longing for the West, and brought her family to Bandolph county in this state, where they passed the first winter. The next spring the family moved to Linn county and located near Linneus, some time afterward moving to Bucklin township, the mother in the meantime having contracted a second marriage in which she united herself with a Mr. Carter. By

He was twelve years old when the family came to this state, and nearly thirteen when it located in Linn county. He attended the oldtime country schools of the period, which were kept for a few months during the winter in a rude log shack furnished with slab benches, and in them acquired all he ever got in the way of scholastic training. At an early age he began life for himself as a farmer, and that occupation he followed steadily until 1900. He experienced all the hardships and privations of frontier life and all the difficulties of converting a tract of wild land into a productive and well improved farm, doing this on 160 acres in Bucklin township when the whole region surrounding him was still largely unoccupied and almost an unbroken wilderness.

In 1883 he bought a farm near Brookfield, which he lived on and cultivated until 1895. He then sold it and turned his attention to dealing extensively in real estate and carrying on an insurance business, in which he is still engaged. His operations have steadily grown in magnitude until now they have reached large proportions and given him a very considerable business. He is considered an excellent judge of property and has broad and comprehensive knowledge on the subject, making him a judicious adviser for both buyers and sellers, and causing him to be called into almost daily consultations with reference to it.

While he did not go far from home during the Civil War, he took part in it as a member of Company H, Second Missouri Provisional Regiment, which rendered valuable service to the state guarding the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad for a year and a half, from the fall of 1863 to the close of the war. Mr. Hendericks was corporal of his company. The regiment took part in no actual hostilities, but was always l^repared for the worst, and on several occasions was very near an engagement in deadly combat.

Mr. Hendericks was married in 1874 to Miss Cynthia J. Ramsey, a native of Indiana and a daughter of George and Polly (Broadhurst) Ramsey, who came to Linn county in 1844. No children have been born of the union. The head of the house is a Republican in his political faith and allegiance, and his services to his party have always been active and well appreciated by both its leaders and its rank and file. He has served as a justice of the peace and township trustee. He is a Freemason of the Royal Arch degree in fraternal relations. As a citizen he is regarded as sterling and representative of the best in the eoimty. As a man of public spirit and enterprise, both in his own affairs and those of the county, he is esteemed as an influential force, resource- ful and progressive, wise in counsel and energetic and effective in action. In all the relations of life he is known to be correct and commendable, and the people of the county have for him universal respect and good will.

Robert R. Smith

Orphaned when he was but little over one year old by the death of his father, and by this sad bereavement forced to begin the struggle for a livelihood and advancement among men at a very early age, Robert R. Smith of Brookfield, this county, has been wholly the architect of his own fortune, the maker and director of his own career, the source and medium of all his triumphs in life. In business, in social circles and in the bright record he has written for himself in the chronicles of the great fraternity of which he is now one of the highest officials and has long been a shining ornament and a potent force for good, he has made his own way without the aid of Fortune's favors or advantageous circumstances at any time. His capital has been his high character, his native ability, his persistent industry, his determined self-reliance and his genial and benevolent disposition. These assets, freely invested wherever he has lived, have brought him in excellent and rich returns in the good will and esteem of the people, and given him prominence and popularity in every line of endeavor he has tried.

Mr. Smith's life began near Findlay, Hancock county, Ohio, on February 6, 1863. He is a son of Reuben and Christina (Boyles) Smith, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer, and during a part of the Civil War served in the Ohio state militia. He died in 186.3, when his son was still an infant, and left the care of him and the four other children in the family to the mother.

This excellent woman felt her bereavement keenly and deeply mourned the great loss she had sustained. But she also realized intensely her heavy responsibility in the rearing of her children, and she put everything else aside in order that she might meet that fully. With the fortitude and courage of a Roman matron she entered upon the performance of her duties in this respect, and she never abandoned them for a moment until they were discharged to the full extent and in the best manner her circumstances would allow. She brought her five children to Linneus in June, 1866, and here continued the devoted care of them she had begun in her former home. Sometime after her arrival in this county she was married a second time, uniting herself in this marriage with a Mr. Haymaker. Her first husband was a son of John W. Smith, who died in Ohio, leaving two sons and one daughter at the time of his demise.

Eobert E. Smith grew from the age of three years to manhood in Linneus and obtained a limited education in the public schools of that city, attending them in winter for a few years and working in the summer at anything his willing hands could find to do. His great desire was to lighten the burden of family care borne by his mother, to whom he was faithful and fervent in filial devotion. When he was eleven years old he became a bread-winner, first as a clerk in a grocery store, then as a farm hand. Earnestly desirous of better pay for his time and labor, he next accepted employment as a section hand on a railroad. From this occupation he went to clerking for a lumber dealer, and from that to clerking in a dry goods store.

Mr. Smith's brave, manly heart won him friends in early youth who have stood by him in all his vicissitudes in life, and in every position he held he won the good will of both his employers and the patrons of their business. From the start his aim was high, and in all circumstances his efforts were zealous and well applied. His progress, too, although very slow and painful at first, was steady always, and after a time became more rapid, easy and agreeable, and widening opportunities gave him scope for more decided and far-reaching usefulness.

His general popularity was handsomely demonstrated in 1892, when he was elected treasurer of Linn county by a majority of 240 votes. In that election every other candidate of his party but two was defeated. So well did he perform his duties in this ofiSce, that at the end of his first term he was elected for another by a majority of 640 votes. At the close of his second term he was invited to enter the mercantile firm of Hartman & Tooey as a stockholder and the secretary of the company, which was then the largest capitalized corporation in northern ^lissouri. This has since become the Tooey Mercantile Company, and Mr. Smith is now its vice president. It is a leader among the mercantile institutions of Brookfield, and has few if any rivals in magnitude and extent of business in this part of the state.

Mr. Smith is also a stockholder in the Linn County Bank, and a director and the treasurer of the Inter-Ocean Life and Casualty Company of Spring-field, Illinois, which he founded. His political allegiance and services are given to the Republican party, to which he is loyally devoted. For some years he was a member of its state central committee of Missouri. He was married on January 25, 1888, to Miss Sallie E. Phillips, a daughter of John C. Phillips, whose life story is briefly told on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two sons and two daughters : Calvin 0., who is a graduate of the University of Chicago and now a student in the law department of Harvard; and Maurice R., Catherine and Virginia, who are living at home with their parents.

Mr. Smith has from his early manhood taken a very active interest in fraternal organizations, in two of which he holds appreciated membership. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. In the latter of these he has been particularly zealous and effective in service, and has risen to a very high official position in its government, being at this time chairman of its general board of directors, an office to which he has been chosen by the Head Camp of the fraternity in annual sessions.

In 1898 he was elected Venerable Consul of Brookfield Camp No. 2127, and under his guidance in a few years the camp more than doubled its membership. In 1901 he became a candidate for Head Banker of the fraternity, a position requiring both business ability of a high order and incorruptible integrity. He was unanimously chosen to the position by the Head Camp that year. In this office he demonstrated so clearly that he was sterling and fitted for any responsible position in life, that in 1903 he was elected a member of the general board of directors, and since then has been made chairman of the board.

The membership of the Modern Woodmen of America is very large. It is an insurance order, and as such its funds are greater than those of any other insurance fraternity in the world. It covers a vast territory in this country and others, and its interests are multitudinous in number, great in magnitude and extensively diversified in character. Its head banker has enormous responsibilities and its directors are heavily burdened with them also. To win not only distinction but universal approval and commendation in either position is a high tribute to a man's business capacity and unyielding integrity. To win this in both is a triumph that is attainable by few men and must be based on genuine merit of the most exalted kind in him who achieves it. Mr. Smith has shown that he has such merit.

Oscar F. Libby

In his own history and that of his parents Oscar F. Lil)by of Laclede, this county furnishes a fine illustration of the migrations of the American people from one part of the country to another, their changes of occupation from time to time, according to the circumstances in which they find themselves, and their universal and masterly adaptiveness to conditions whatever the requirements of tliose conditions may be. He and his parents were born in far-away Maine, lived in three other states before becoming residents of Missouri, and both he and his father changed their occupations whenever opportunities were presented for profitable ventures in new or different lines of endeavor. These are experiences common in our history, but they argue no want of steadfastness or stability on the part of our people. On the contrary, they are proofs of the great alertness, restless activity and genius for conquest in all domains of activity of the American mind, and outgrowths or causes of the enterprise which has made our nation so rich and great and given us so commanding a rank among the leading powers of the world in arms, in arts, in industries and in commerce.

Oscar F. Libby's life began in Cumberland county, Maine, on December 9, 1852, and he is a son of Nathaniel S. and Sarah (Freeman) Libby, also natives of that state and county, where the father was born on January 14, 18.30. In March, 1855, led by the richness of the prairies of the West, he left his native state and moved his family as it was then to Greene county, Illinois, but only remained there two months. He then moved to St. Croix county, Wisconsin, and there purchased 160 acres of school land.

The region in which he made his purchase did not seem to him at the time the best for the exercise of his enterprise, and accordingly he changed his residence and base of operations temporarily to Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he took up a tract of government land of 160 acres. In the fall of 1855 he went back to the pineries of Wisconsin, and passed the winter there logging with oxen. The next spring he began to improve his Minnesota land, and became a prominent man in the region of its location. He was a member of the first board of trustees of Roscoe township in Goodhue county and assisted in organizing the county.

He lived in that county until he proved up on his land, then traded it for $200, a yoke of oxen, a cow and a log chain, which was thought to be a first rate deal for that period. In May, 1861, he again crossed the Mississippi river to his St. Croix county, Wisconsin, land and began to improve that. In time he made a fine farm of it for the state of development then considered advanced and then left it for other new and untried regions and fresh fields of conquest over the wilderness.

three miles north of that town, where he resided until his death, which occurred on July 20, 1901. He was married in April, 1851, to Miss Sarah Freeman, also a native of Maine and a daughter of Greorge Freeman of that state. Of the eleven children born of the union ten are living: Oscar F., the immediate subject of this sketch; Walter, who is a resident of Cheyenne, Oklahoma ; Ernest L., whose home is at Linn Creek, Camden county, in this state; Lucy F., who is still residing on the family homestead north of Laclede ; Sarah M., now the of I. H. Watson of Brookfield ; Lucius E., who is also living on the homestead ; Lottie L., who is now the wife of Charles Sternkey of Brookfield ; John, who has his home at Bonne Terre, St. Francois county, Missouri ; Grace, who married with William F. Havner and is living at No. 308 North Fifth street, Kansas City, Kansas ; and Maria H., who is now Mrs. Carl E. Brown of Clarimere, Oklahoma.

Oscar F. Libby obtained the greater part of his scholastic training in Wisconsin, being about eighteen years old when the family moved to this state and county. But after his arrival here he attended public schools in Linneus and Laclede. At the age of twenty he began teaching in the public schools of the county and adhered to that profession for twelve terms. ^^Hiile engaged in teaching he also studied law at home, and in June, 1878, was admitted to the bar. Since then he has been busily occupied in his profession, and steadily rose in rank in it until in 1906 he was elected judge of the county court for a term of two years.

Mr. Libby is a Democrat in political faith and allegiance, but he has never been desirous of public office and has never sought official station either by appointment or election. His being chosen county judge was by motion of the people of the county, who knew his ability and high character, and without any solicitation on his part. He has, however, always been active and energetic in connection with public affairs, and in every way open to him has shown his deep and abiding interest in the progress and development of his county and the enduring welfare of its people.

On September 27, 1882, Mr. Libby was joined in wedlock with Miss Eebecca J. Watson, a daughter of James H. and Rebecca J. Watson, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Chariton county, Missouri. Six children have been born in the Libby household, five of whom are living: Oscar F., Jr., whose home is in Kansas City, Missouri ; Harry J., who is a resident of Shelbina, this state ; and Louis, Mary V. and Bertha E., who are still at home with their parents.

L. A. Moorman

With the native quickness of perception, resourceful adaptation to circumstances, and readiness for any requirement, which he inherited from his Irish ancestry, well trained hy an excellent education, and all his faculties still warm with the fire and energy of young manhood, L. A. Moorman, manager and treasurer of the Moorman Lumber Company of Marceline, which he founded, is well worthy of the high hopes entertained of him as a business man and a wide-awake, enterprising and progressive citizen. He has high character and strict integrity to back his other qualifications for success in life, and his industry leaves no hour go by without pajdng its tribute to his advancement in life and the benefit of whatever he has in hand for his own welfare or that of other persons.

Mr. Moorman is a native of Missouri, having been born in Chariton county on August 23, 1875. He is a son of Benjamin F. and Mary (Shands) Moorman, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia. The parents moved to Missouri in 1864 and located in Chariton county. They farmed in that county for a number of years, but are now living retired from active pursuits in Marceline. Of the children born of their union four sons and one daughter are living. The ancestors of the father came from Ireland to this country at an early day and settled in Virginia. Some of their descendants moved to Kentucky when it was still largely a wilderness, and others have since become residents of Missouri. Wherever they have lived they have followed the occupation of the old patriarchs and been farmers.

L. A. Moorman was reared to manhood in Charitpn count\^ and began his education in its public schools. He attended the Keytesville Higli School and the Normal School at Kirksville, and afterward the University of Chicago. His aim was to qualify himself as a high grade teacher, and after leaving the university he taught in the public schools of this county for a period of eleven years, the earlier part of the time at various places in the country districts, then two years as principal and five as superintendent of the schools in Marceline. His influence for good in the management and improvement of the Marceline schools was considerable and is still felt and acknowledged by teachers and school patrons alike.

In 1911 he resigned as a teacher and school official and turned his attention to the lumber trade, purchasing the business of the late W. D. Brown, deceased. In order to give himself a wider sweep and greater resources in the business, he organized the Moorman Lumber

Company, with himself as general manager and treasurer, but with the wisdom of others interested in the company to add to his own for the general advantage of all. The company is prospering finely under his management and its trade is increasing rapidly. He stood high in the estimation of the public as a school teacher, and he has now won general confidence and esteem and many warm encomiums as a business man.

Mr. Moorman has always been deeply and practically interested in the development and improvement of his township and county, and has never hesitated to do his full share of the work of promoting their advancement. In political faith and allegiance he is a member of the Democratic party and consistently loyal and serviceable to it. In fraternal relations he is connnected with the Masonic order, in which he has advanced to the degree of Knights Templar. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, and an earnest worker in the congregation to which he belongs.

On December 6. 1906, Mr. Moorman was united in marriage with Miss Eugenia M. Eingo of Kirksville. Like her husband, Mrs. Moorman is well educated, and like hiin she is sincerely, warmly and intelligently interested in the welfare of Marceline, Bucklin township and Linn county. Although her manifestations of local patriotism cannot cover all the ground and be active in all the channels of usefulness that have the benefit of Mr. Moorman's activity, in her own department of helpfulness she is as energetic and genuinely serviceable as he is in his. Both have a high place in the estimation of the public and a strong hold on the confidence, regard and esteem of the whole people, including every class.

John M. Anderson

The late John M. Anderson, who died in Bucklin township, this county, in 1899, was one of the pioneers of that portion of the county and one of its most substantial and esteemed citizens. Besides the romance and hardships attending his coming into the wilderness and hewing out a farm from its broad expanse of unbroken soil, in a time when the region in which he located was largely unpeopled and still infested with its savage denizens, ferocious Indians and beasts of prey, his life had many adventures and incidents of much more than ordinary interest. And throughout the course of it he presented a manly front to every opponent, whether of man or circumstance, and always main-

Mr. Anderson was a native of the Old Dominion, having been born in Prince Edward county, Virginia, about the year 1807. He was a son of Milton Anderson, who was also a native of Virginia, and a life-long resident of that state, where he died at a good old age. The son remained at the place of his birth until he reached the age of twentynine years, and was educated and married there. After attaining his majority he engaged in farming, and followed that occupation in Virginia until 1836, when he moved his family to Missouri and located near Brunswick in Chariton county.

The journey from his old home to his new one, which was then one of considerable extent, was made with teams, and he brought liis slaves, live stock and household equipment with him. It was a long and tedious trip, and not without peril in many parts ; for the Indians were at all times likely to be hostile, the common necessaries of life were difiScult of attainment, roads were few, bridges in many places unknown and fordings undetermined as to depth and safety. But he and his wife were resolute in spirit and strong in courage, and they persevered to the end of their long journey, through the unknown to the unknown, and reached their destination, with all their belongings, in safety and comparative comfort.

The family remained in Chariton county about two years, then moved to Linn county, finding another new home on government land which the father took up a short distance west of Bueklin. He broke up and cultivated this land, erected as good buildings for the shelter of his family, his live stock and his crops as he could under the circumstances, and lived on it until his death in 1899, the year in which his wife also died. At the beginning of the Civil War he owned some 1,500 acres, and had about 300 acres fenced and a large portion of it under cultivation. The war cloud threatened him in every way. Party spirit ran high along the border and there were many indications that the war would be predatory and respect neither life nor property on either side, which is always the case in border warfare. Mr. Anderson's syiupathies were with the South, and he took his slaves and stock, with his family, to Texas, establishing himself on a farm which he bought near Sherman, the county seat of Grayson county in that state. He remained there until after the close of the war and then came back to his Linn county home.

sons and three of the daughters are living : Eobert L., who resides in this county; Hezekiah, a resident of Marceline; Mary, who lives with her brother on the homestead ; Emma, who is now the wife of Thomas B. Glasgow of this county; and Edward, who lives on and farms the land occuiDied by his parents during their lives.

The father was a Democrat in political faith and party allegiance, and an energetic and effective worker for the success of his organization. But his zeal was inspired by conviction and principle, and had no element of personal ambition in it, as he never sought, desired or would accept a political office of any kind, either bj' appointment or election. He was prominent as a farmer and influential as a citizen throughout the county, and enjoyed extensive popularity among all classes of its people. Before the end of his long and useful life he became a patriarch among them, and received the veneration due to such a rank. And it must be said to his credit that he deserved the good will and regard so richly bestowed upon him, as he was upright and straightforward in all the relations of life, and true to everj' duty of his manhood.

From a tidewater county on the coast of ]\Iaine to a wholly agricultural one in the interior of Missouri ; from the shores of the Atlantic to the prairies of the West, beyond the great Fatlier of Waters ; from tlie hazards and stirring life of the manufacturing, fishing and other industries of the East to the remote and quiet pursuit of tilling the soil and the occupations allied with and growing out of that in the Middle West, is afar step; but it is one which the interesting subject of this brief review has taken with advantage to himself and to the people here, among whom he brought by it the energy, resourcefulness and enterprise indigenous to his native state, and the ingenuity and adaptiveness characteristic of its people.

Bradford McAllister has shown that he has the adaptiveness of the residents of his native section of the country by seizing and harnessing opportunity for his service as they have come to him, and by ready coalescense with new conditions and his enterprise in making the most of them. For, whether he was connected with the fishing or the manufacturing industry, or with neither, whatever his occupation might have been in the region of his birth, the conditions and requirements for men of mold and progressiveness, and the opportunities offered them there were very different from those of the region in which he now lives ; and he has been as ready in his use of what has been offered here as he could have been in what was available there, and probably has made as much progress, if not more.

Mr. McAllister was born in Waldo county, Maine, on August 6, 1846, and is a son of Alfred and Waitie (Foster) McAllister, also natives of that state. The father was a general merchant there, and there the mother died. They were the parents of five sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased except Bradford and one of his brothers. After the death of the mother the father married again. He brought his family to Missouri in 1866 and located in Carroll county, where he engaged in farming, remaining in that county until his death, which occurred there.

Bradford McAllister, who is of Scotch-Irish aneestrj', and whose grandfather was a soldier in the Eevolutionary War, grew to the age of twenty years in his native state, obtained a common school education there, and after leaving school learned the trade of a blacksmith and carriage maker. He came to Missouri with his father, and after his arrival in this state farmed for a number of years. He also kept a store in Carroll county seven years. He prospered in both enterprises, and on coming to Marceline in 1891 began business in operating a dray and express service, of which he was the sole owner and manager, and which he carried on for sixteen years, handling ice throughout an extensive scope of territory in connection with that business. His business became large and it opened his eyes to a new opportunity, which he lost no time in embracing.

At the end of the period named he bought the creamery of which he is now the head, and took his sons into the business with him, and it has since been conducted under the firm name of B. McAllister & Sons. He also founded the bottling works, which he operated some time. Since his purchase of the creamery it has been rebuilt and enlarged, and in connection with it a large silo and commodious barns have been erected. The firm owns a fine herd of cows as one source of supply for the creamery. It sells ice cream, butter and other creamery products extensively and continues to handle ice and carry on the dray and express line. Its business is extensive and active, and requires the energy and close attention of all the members of the firm in its various departments.

On March 1.3, 1869, Mr. McAllister was married to Miss Malinda J. Brown, a native of Missouri. They have had twelve children, ten of whom are living: Charles A., M. Emma, William A., Ealph N., Chester B.. Ross, Olive A., Hazel B. and Earl. The father is a Socialist in his political faith and takes a considerable interest in the affairs of his party. He is also earnestly interested in tlie progress and development of his township and county, and is widely and favorably known as an enteriDrising and public-spirited citizen, always ready to bear his part of the burden of cost, labor and influence necessary to carry out new undertakings for the general welfare of his locality and bring them to a successful conclusion. Throughout the county he is well esteemed in business circles, for his devotion to the duties of citizenship and as a man. The other members of the family share in the good opinion and general regard bestowed on him.

Frank M. Wolfe

A native of Knox county, Illinois, a resident for some years of Chariton county in this state, and having his home in Linn countj^ continuously since 1882, Frank M. Wolfe, now (1912) postmaster of Marceline, has had experience of a varied kind in several residences, and has attended schools under a considerable variety of circumstances, and secured his education under somewhat difficult and trying conditions. But he has been game from his boyhood, and always faced his difficulties with a manly and resourceful spirit and a determination to make the best of whatever has befallen him. This spirit has been his main reliance and has won him success.

Mr. Wolfe's life began on June 14, 1868, in the great prairie state, and when he was but six years old the family moved to Missouri and located in Chariton county. Eight years later, that is in 1882, they all changed their residence to Linn county, and this has been the family home ever since the year last named. Mr. Wolfe is a sou of Warren and Sarah E. (Buck) Wolfe, the former born in Iowa and the latter in Illinois. The father is a retired farmer, having given up active work in the management of his farm in 1910, after carrying on its operations twenty-eight years.

In 1863, during the progress of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry in defense of the Union, and in that regiment he served to the end of the great conflict which so nearly dismembered our country and was so costly in blood and treasure. He was with General Sherman on his historic march to the sea, and also took part in a number of battles, but while frequently in the very deluge of death in some of the great engagements of the war, he escaped unharmed except by the hardships and privations of the serv-

Mr. Wolfe, the elder, and his vnte were the parents of seven sons and four daughters, all of whom are living. Frank M. was the second in the order of birth. He obtained his education in country schools, and for some years after the dawn of his manhood followed farming. He then turned his attention to merchandising, in which he was engaged for seven years in Marceline. He was appointed postmaster of Marceline on August 5, 1909, and has held the office continuously since that time, rendering the people very acceiDtable service and making an excellent record in the office.

Mr. Wolfe has been a life-long Republican in his political faith and allegiance, and has long rendered his party good service, both by his wisdom in counsel and his energy and effectiveness in action. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religious affiliation he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He takes a very active and serviceable interest in the affairs of his lodge and his church, and his membership in both is highly appreciated by the other members, who find him very effective as a worker for the good of the two organizations and enterprising in promoting their welfare.

On December 2d, 1892, Mr. Wolfe was united in marriage with Miss Mabel E. Burch, of Linn county. They have three children. Ruby, Theresa B. and Fern M., all of whom are still members of the parental family circle. All the members of the family are highly esteemed throughout their township and in other parts of the county for their usefulness and worth as members of their community and as citizens generally, and they are fully deserving of the high regard in which they are held.

Dr. John L. Burke

For the greater part of thirty-five years a physician and surgeon in active practice in times of peace, and during the Civil War a Union soldier. Dr. John L. Burke, of Laclede, has shown his interest in the welfare of his fellow-men and his devotion to his country in practical service to both. He comes of a military family, too, being of the third generation of his male line that has taken up arms in defense of American liberty and the preservation of the Union and its institutions.

also natives of Kentucky. The father completed his professional education in the medical department of Louisville University and practiced in his native state until 1856. In that year he moved to Tazewell county, Illinois, where he practiced nine years. At the end of that time he came to Missouri and located in Livingston county, moving later to Lathrop in Clinton county, going there in 1868, and being the first physician there.

The father served during the Civil War in the Seventieth and the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in 1863, and remaining on duty to the close of the memorable and sanguinary conflict. At one time he was elected captain of Company A, the One Hundred and Eighth Illinois regiment, but he never served in that capacity, being retained all the time as hospital steward. During his residence at Lathrop he was a justice of the peace for a number of years. In fraternal life he belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic order.

His father, James Burke, was also a native of Kentucky. He was a son of John Burke, who came to this country from Ireland in 1760 and helped to win independence for the United States as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. On his arrival in this country he located in North Carolina, and during the Revolution served in a North Carolina regiment. He died near Richmond, Indiana, and was for some years before his death on the Revolutionary pension roll of the country.

Dr. John L. Burke's mother died in 1883 and his father in 1905. They were the parents of eleven children, six of whom, five sons and one daughter, grew to maturity. One of the sons was killed in the Civil War, and four of the eleven children are yet living. The doctor, who is the immediate subject of this brief review, was reared in Kentucky and Illinois and attended the district schools in both states. When the Civil War began he enlisted in the Union army twice, but was rejected each time on account of his youth. He was accepted in 1864 as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served in that company one hundred days, the full term of his enlistment. In 1865 he enlisted again in Company D, One Hundred and Fifty-second Illinois regiment, with which he remained until the close of the war. He was in the Missouri campaign during his first service and was assigned to the duty of guarding prisoners in Illinois ; also saw service in middle and west Tennessee during last enlistment.

After receiving an honorable dischai'ge from the army the doctor returned to Illinois, but remained there only a few weeks, then came to Missouri with the rest of the family. Here he taught school for a time and studied medicine nnder the instruction of Ms father. In 1877 he began practicing as an uuder-graduate, and attended lectures at the Missouri Medical College during the terms of 1878, 1879, 1880 and 1881. On receiving his diploma in the year last named he came at once to Laclede, and has lived here ever since. Prior to going to the medical college he lived five years in Kansas, but nearly the whole of his mature life has been passed in this state and thirty-one years of it at Laclede. On February 27, 1873, the doctor was married to Miss Mary F. Moss, a native of Livingston county, Missouri. They have had four children, three of whom are living : Dr. Foster W. Burke, of Laclede ; Louise H., who is now the wife of Alvin C. Lippitt, of Meadville, Linn county ; and William E., who is a resident of Brookfield. The father is a Republican in political faith and allegiance, but is no longer an active partisan. He belongs to the county, state and Grand river medical societies, is a Freemason and an Odd Fellow in fraternal connections and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He also holds active and appreciated membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. Officially he is a member and the president of the United States Pension Board for Linn county. No citizen of Linn county is more highly esteemed, and none is more truly deserving of the high regard in which he is held by all classes of the people.

Dr. Foster W. Burke, the son of Dr. John L., was born in Clinton county, Missouri, on September 29, 1874. He obtained his education in Linn county, being but seven years old when his parents located at Laclede, and is a graduate of Brookfield College. He began the study of medicine in 1894, entering for the purpose what was then Marion Simms Medical College but is now a part of the St. Loiiis University. He was graduated from that institution in 1897, and has since then been actively engaged in practice at Laclede, with a steadily increasing patronage and growing popularity as a physician and citizen of fine attainments and high character.

The doctor belongs to the county, state and Grand river medical societies and the American Medical Association. He is also a member of the United States Pension Board for Linn county and the secretary of the board. In politics he is a Republican and active in the service of his party. He has been a member of its county central committee twelve years and for six chairman of it. For two years he has been a member of the state committee. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of Odd Fellows and the Order of Elks, and in religious affiliation with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Georgia E. Masey, of Kansas City, Missouri. Tliey have one cliild, their son Foster W., Jr. Mrs. Burke's father, Stephen Masey, was a soldier in the Confederate army under General Price. He was a native of Kentucky. He died a number of years ago. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Templin, and who is still living, is a native of Ohio.

Dr. Burke, the younger, is one of the most prominent and promising young professional men and civic forces in Linn county. He is thoroughly informed and very skillful in his professional work, stands high as a citizen, is a sunbeam in social gatherings, and has shown himself to be deeply and intelligently interested in the wholesome progress and enduring welfare of his township, county and state. The people all over the county know him well and favorably, and they all esteem him in accordance with liis universally acknowledged worth, ability and enterprise.

The leading druggist and the oldest merchant in continuous business in Marceline, E. W. Tayler has earned the high place he holds in the business world of this part of the country, and as he has also been public spirited and progressive in connection with the development and improvement of the city and county of his home, he is well deserving of the cordial esteem which all classes of the people bestow on him without stint. He is not a native of Missouri, but has lived in the state from infancy, and was not reared in Linn county, but has dwelt among its people and taken part in their activities for almost a full quarter of a century. He is therefore imbued with their spirit, deeply interested in their welfare and feels a just and commendable pride in their achievements, in which he has borne his part in full measure and with eagerness.

Mr. Tayler was born in Galesburg, Illinois, on March 14, 1869, and before the end of that year was brought by his parents to Missouri and found a new home in Chariton county. He is a son of Edward H. and Emma J. (Wilmot) Tayler, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Illinois. The father was a farmer and located on a tract of wild land in Chariton county on his arrival in this state in 1869. He devoted himself exclusively to the improvement and cultivation of his farm until the spring of 1887, when he opened a general store on the farm for the purpose of supplying the needs of the workmen who were then building the Santa Fe Railroad. During the winter of the same

He continued to carry on the business until March, 1901, when he retired and turned it over to his son, who is still conducting it. The father is now living in Oakland, California. His wife died in 1895 after long j^ears of usefulness and upright living, true to her duties as a wife and mother, devoted to the welfare of her children and serviceably interested in the good of every community in which she lived. They had two children, one of whom has died. The father was a very progressive and useful citizen during his residence in this part of the country. He was one of the earliest promoters of the coal mining industry at Marceline, and helped to finance the first mine opened here.

His father, Thomas H. Tayler, grandfather of E. W. Tayler, was born on the Isle of Wight, England, and was brought to the United States by his parents when he was ten years old. The family located in New York state, and in 1848 Thomas H. became a pioneer in the neighborhood of Gralesburg, Illinois, keeping a tavern twelve miles north of that city, where he died. He married with Miss Lydia Strouse, and they became the parents of four sons, two of whom are living.

E. W. Tayler was reared on his father's farm and obtained his academic education in the public schools. He pursued a course of special training for business at the Avalon (Missouri) Commercial College, then entered his father's store as a clerk and student of pharmacy, of which he acquired a knowledge in the most practical way. He soon secured such a mastery of the science that he became a registered pharmacist after passing a highly creditable examination in the manner made necessary by the law.

Mr. Tayler remained in association with his father until the latter retired, then took charge of the business himself, since which time he has been its sole proprietor. It is enough, in description of him as a merchant, to say that he has kept pace with the progress of the times and is strictly up to date in his business. He studies the needs of the community and the best way of providing for them, both in his general line of drugs and chemicals, and in the other articles of merchandise that are usually allied with that in trade. As a pharmacist he is well qualified in the profession by extensive and accurate knowledge and in practical skill and genuine conscientiousness in the application of that knowledge.

On September 6, 1893, Mr. Tayler was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Null, a daughter of Dr. A. C. Null of Sumner, Chariton county, Missouri. They have two children, their sons Viers W. and Willard L.

The father is a Democrat in political faith and allegiance and warmlyinterested in the success and continued supremacy of his party, seeing in its principles and their general application to public atfairs the best guarantee of good government in city, county and nation. He has given the community excellent service for a number of years as a member of the school board. Fraternally he belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic order. The people of Linn county esteem him highly as a citizen and as a man, and he has a very considerable and helpful influence among them.

Harry K. West

The whole city of Brookfield and county of Linn, as well as a large part of the surrounding country was thrown into grief and gloom by the untimely death of the late Harry K. West, which occurred on June 16, 1907, when he was at the height of his usefulness and but forty-seven years old. The vacancy in the professional and social life of the community occasioned by his demise was keenly felt at the time and has not been filled. His memory is cherished and revered as that of one of the best citizens and most progressive and useful men in the county, as well as one of its most eminent lawyers and leaders of thought and action in all that ministers to the advancement of the county and the substantial welfare of its people.

Mr. West was born in Putnam county, Illinois, on February 2.3, 1860, and was brought to Linn county, Missouri, by his parents when he was but ten years old. He grew to manhood in this county and was educated in its schools. An account of the life of his parents, Robert N. and Susan K. (Mills) West, will be found in a sketch of his brother, Henry J. West, on another page of this volume. As soon as the young man completed his scholastic education he began reading law under the direction of Major A. W. Mullins of Linneus, and he made sucli progress in his preparatory studies that he was admitted to practice in 1881.

He remained at Linneus until 1887, and by that time had built up a considerable practice and gained a high reputation for the extent and accuracy of his legal knowledge and his ability, skill and conscientiousness as a practitioner. In the year last named he removed to Marceline, where he lived and labored at his professional work until 1899, then changed his residence to Brookfield, where he passed the remainder of his days.

whom will be found in this work, and this partnership lasted until Mr. West's death. He made an excellent record as a member of the firm and helped to carry its name to the first rank in the profession In tliis part of the country, being regarded as one of the most capable and upright lawyers in the county. He was also widely and favorably known in other parts of the state, and everywhere was highly esteemed as a man and an enterprising and progressive citizen, whose examjDle was stimulating and whose influence was potential in connection with all matters involving the good of his city, county and state.

On December 26, 1883, Mr. West was married to Miss Lena E. Crawley of Keytesville. They became the parents of five children, all of whom are living but the first born. The mother and two of her children live in Brookfield, where they are crowned with the esteem and good will of the whole population and looked upon as very useful factors in the activities of the community which aid in promoting the mental, moral and social welfare of the people and raising the standard of the city in the estimation of the rest of the state.

Albert Zurcher

From the mountains of Switzerland, and their air of freedom, independence and self-reliance, to. the plains of Missouri, with their wide expanse and atmosphere of equal independence and greater opportunity, is a long step, but one which many a man has taken with advantage to himself and benefit to the community in which he has located. The Swiss people are full of manhood, resourcefulness and adaptibility to circumstances, and the great American republic is indebted to no class of its foreign population more than to them, in proportion to their numbers, for the great and gi'atifying progress it has made. And that it knows how to appreciate them when they have real merit is shown by the universal esteem bestowed upon Albert Zurcher of Marceline, one of their best representatives.

Mr. Zurcher 's life began in the city of Eiel, in the land of William Tell and Arnold Winkelreid, in 1882. His parents, Gotfried and Anna (Bosiger) Zurcher, were also born in that city, and there they have passed the whole of their lives to the present time (1912). The father is a watchmaker of great skill and reputation, and carries on a flourishing business in the city of his nativity. The mother is also still living. Of their six children three are sons, and two of them are residents of Marceline. Two of the three daughters also reside in the United States.

The third son and one of the three daughters in the family still have their home in Switzerland, and are variously engaged in the diversified productive industries of that interesting country.

Albert Zurcher was reared to the age of twenty years in his native land and obtained his education there. He began working at watchmaking when he was but fifteen years of age, and wrought at the trade in his native city for five years. At the end of that period, in 1902, he came to the United States, and secured employment at his trade at Waltham, Massachusetts, where he remained oue year. He then passed three months at South Bend, Indiana, and from there moved to Chicago, where he remained a short time. From Chicago he changed his residence to Elgin, Illinois, and in 1908 came to Mareeline, Missouri. Here he bought the business of Percy Welkins, which the latter had conducted for twenty years.

Soon aftei'ward Mr. Zurcher was made watch inspector for the Santa Fe Eailroad at this point, he being an expert in that line of business, and this trust he still holds, having given great satisfaction to the railroad company and all its employes with whom he has had to deal. He has enlarged his business in many ways in his efforts to keep up with the times and the requirements of the community in which he is operating, and now has the largest stock in the county in his line of commodities and the leading business of his department of trade in Mareeline. In addition to his wide and comprehensive stock of watches and fine jewelry he handles musical instruments, and is unusually well informed as to the value and capacity of every character and grade of the music making devices he has for sale.

Mr. Zurcher takes a cordial interest in the fraternal life of the community as a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He also takes an active and serviceable part in everything designed to promote the welfare and advance the interests of Mareeline and Linn county. He believes in America and American institutions, and does all he can to increase their power and augment their usefulness. He believes also in Missouri and Linn county, and in no behalf is he more energetic and zealous than in theirs, whatever may be the issue at stake.

Mr. Zurcher also takes an active interest in his business, locally and collectively. His own trade is large, and gives him good opportunities to note the trend and tendency of the business. Besides, he is a gentleman of more than ordinary capacity in his domain of industry, and is wideawake and alert to its requirements. He realizes that the jewelry and watch trade is a progressive one, and he welcomes every agency that will aid him to keep in its front rank and meet all the demands of such a position. For this reason he is an active and energetic member of the American Jewelers' Retail Association and takes a prominent part in its proceedings.

He was married on May 23, 1909, to Miss Margaret Breslich, a native of Elgin, Illinois, and at the time of her marriage a resident of that city. They have one child, their daughter Elise. Her father is regarded as one of the most upright and progressive citizens of Marceline, and throughout Linn county he has a high reputation for his skill and capacity as a jeweler, an enterprising and progressive business man and an elevated and patriotic, as well as public spirited and farseeing citizen.

Brought to this country an infant two years old, Dr. Thomas P. Oven, of Brookfield, knew little of his native land except what he learned by reading and observation. He was therefore thoroughly American, and showed his interest in the country by aiding in its development, progress and improvement, and the substantial and enduring welfare of its people wherever he lived. His residence of thirty years in Brookfield was prolific of good for the city and its people, and they accorded him the full measure of approval and appreciation his merit and services entitled him to, which gave him the highest rank in public esteem and admiration.

Dr. Oven was born on October 17, 1848, in Herefordshire, England, and was a son of John and Margaret (Eckley) Oven. The father was of the same nativity as the son, and the mother was born and reared in Exefordshire, England. They were married in England and lived there until 1850, when they came to the United States, landing in the city of New York. The father was a blacksmith and farrier, and also a licensed practitioner of medicine to the extent of giving first aid to the sick and injured. He used simple remedies in his practice and was very skillful and successful in the application of them.

On his arrival in the city of New York the father felt the tug of the West on his heartstrings, and gathering his household goods about him, drove overland to Detroit, Michigan. There he followed his trade of blacksmith and practiced medicine until his health failed, then settled on a farm near Saline, in that state, on which he passed the remainder of his days, dying in 1857. He was a very skillful mechanic, and, as has

The father was married twice. His first wife died in England, leaving two children for him to rear and care for. Of his second marriage, which was with the mother of the doctor, six children were born, four sons and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased but his brother Theophilus J., who lives in Dearborn, Michigan. Their mother died in 1874, having lived to see her children rise to standing and consequence among men.

Dr. Thomas P. Oven grew to manhood and obtained his academic education in Detroit, Michigan, and institutions not far from that city. For a number of years he attended a seminary near Adrian, from which he was graduated in 1872. It was a Quaker school, and while attending it he necessarily imbibed many of the tenets and practices of the sect which conducted it. These were of great value to him in his subsequent career because of their humanitarian essence and the interest they create and foster in all mankind, and the genuine desire they beget for the promotion of the welfare of the whole human race.

In the winter of 1873 the doctor taught school and in the spring of 1874 he began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. E. S. Snow, of Dearborn, Michigan. He read the teachings of his profession studiously for two years with Dr. Snow as tutor, and during that period attended a course of lectures in the medical department of the State University at Ann Arbor. He completed his course at the University the next year and received the degree of M. D. from it in June, 1876. Afterward he attended a course of lectures in special training in the University of New York, and in the spring of 1877 he obtained from that institution also the degree of M. D. Later he broadened, ripened and augmented his professional knowledge by attending special courses of lectures at polyclynic colleges in Chicago and Philadelphia, and by active membership in the American Medical Association, the Missouri State and the Linn County Medical Societies, and the Northeastern Missouri Medical Society.

In Marcli, 1877, Dr. Oven came to Missouri to live, and located at Milan, Sullivan county, where he practiced until February, 1881. At that time he took up his residence in Brookfield, and there made his home, and was actively engaged in a general practice until his death which occurred January 25, 1912. During the past twenty-seven years he was the surgeon of the Burlington Railroad system, and after his residence in the city began was one of its most prominent, successful and esteemed physicians and surgeons.

On August 30, 1881, the doctor was united in marriage with Miss Clara M. Crumpacker, a daughter of D. H. and Emma E. (Wilson) Crumpacker, of Milan. The marriage has resulted in the birth of two children, one now living, Gerald D. Oven, now aged seventeen, and attending school. The father was a Republican in politics and a zealous worker in the interest of his party, but he was never desirous of a political office and never sought to get one. Fraternally he was connected with the Modern Brotherhood of America, holding his membership in Lodge 121 in Brookfield; also the Elks of Brookfield.

Dr. Rezin T. Fowler

There is high credit due to the pioneer in any line of activity in a community, and there is also something of heroism in bearing such a relation to its people. For the fact implies something of daring and a spirit of adventure. The field may be unoccupied and free from competition, but its possibilities have not been developed, and the person who starts the work takes all the chances of success or failure in his venture. If he have force of character, strong resolution and capacity for the work before him that he can rely on, the problem is in most cases already settled. For circumstances yield to persons so equipped, and their success is assured in advance, whatever the odds against them.

The professional career of Dr. Eezin T. Fowler, the pioneer dentist of Marceline, is a striking case in point. When he started to practice his profession in this place the municipality was but four years old and had scarcely risen from its cradle. What its stature and its strength were to be, was as yet wholly undetermined, although it was a lusty infant and full of promise. The country around was sparsely settled, and the tide of immigration was neither large nor constant. But Dr. Fowler had perseverance, and determined to await its development, believing that it was destined to a prosperous and progressive existence. His faith has been fully justified, and he is to be commended for maintaining it at all times.

Dr. Fowler is a native of Brown county, Ohio, where his life began on April 18, 1849. He is a son of Eezin and Eleanor (McElfresh) Fowler, the former born in Ohio and the latter in Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer in his native state until 1851, when he moved to Iowa. In 1855 he brought what family he then had to Missouri and located in Knox county. The trip was made by water as far as possible.

the family journeying down the Mississippi to the landing place most convenient to its destination, and then traveling overland by teams to the new location chosen for its home.

The father became prominent and influential in the county soon after his arrival. When the Civil War began he recruited the first company for the defense of the Union in Knox county. This company afterward became a part of the Home Guards of the state. Mr. Fowler served in it nine months. He and his wife were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters. Two of the sons and one of the daughters are living. Their mother died in 1890 after many years of usefulness to her family and of faithful performance of duty in every way.

The doctor grew to manhood in Knox county and was educated in the public schools. He followed farming until he reached the age of thirty-six. He then began the study of dentistry, and in the winters of 1889-90 and 1890-91 attended the Kansas City Dental College, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1891. He began practicing at Keytesville, and remained there about one year. In 1892 he moved to Mareeline, where he has ever since resided and been in active practice. He knows his profession is a very progressive one, and he has made the efforts in reading and study necessary to keep pace with its progress. He has long been a member of the State Dental Association, and is up to date in every department of his work, although he is the oldest dentist in Mareeline and one of the oldest in Linn county, both in years and in length of continuous practice.

Dr. Fowler was first married in 1883 to Miss Cora M. Speer, and by this marriage became the father of two children, one of w^hom grew to maturity but is now deceased. His first wife died in 1888, and in June, 3891, he married a second, uniting himself with Miss Lutie Wright, of Kansas City, Missouri, on this occasion. She still abides with him and presides over their pleasant and genuinely hospitable home, which is a popular resort and held in warm admiration by the numerous friends of the family.

The doctor has taken a good citizen's part in the public affairs of his ,eity, township and county, but he has never sought or desired a political office of any kind. He votes and acts with the Eepublican party in national affairs because he believes in its principles, and in local matters his first and only consideration is the general welfare of the community without regard to party politics. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, and he takes an active part in its work, and in promoting and extending its usefulness.

Dr. Fowler is quiet and unostentatious but sterling and serviceable in his citizenship. He stands high in his profession in the regard of both his professional brethren and the general public. Socially he is genial and companionable with all men worthy of his association, and in his business he is not only knowing and skillful as a practitioner, but strictly upright and straightforward in all his dealings. He is altogether a genuine and worthy representative of the best citizenship of the county, and is everywhere so regarded and esteemed accordingly.

Thomas M. Ludden

Trained in the knowledge of men and of himself by several years experience in teaching school, and with residences in various places, which gave him a good knowledge of the country, Thomas M. Ludden, one of the leading real estate, insurance and loan agents in Linn county, whose home and base of operations is at Marceline, brought to his present business a good foundation in actual preparation for it in a general way, and an ambition to succeed in it that would not stop to consider difficulties or obstacles of any kind that might lie in the way of his progress. His success has been commensurate with the native and acquired ability he has shown, and in accordance with the selfreliance and resourcefulness that have been a large part of his working capital.

Mr. Ludden is a native of Clinton county, Ohio, where his life began on July 21, 1866. His parents, Bernard and Anna (Kilday) Ludden, came to this country from Ireland, where the father was born in 1826. Before braving the wintry bosom of the Atlantic for the land of unexampled bounty in resources and opportunities, he passed a period in England, where he was employed in a cotton mill. But in 1848, when he was twenty-two years old, he emigrated to this country and took up his residence in Clinton county, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming for a period of twenty years.

In 1868 he moved his family from Ohio to Missouri, finding a new home on a wild tract of land in Adair county. This land he has made over into a well improved and highly productive farm, which he still lives on and cultivates. The farm furnishes a fine illustration of the fruitfulness of nature improved and rendered serviceable by art. The persuasive hand of the husbandman has tamed its wildness, reduced it to systematic productiveness, and greatly increased its fertility. It has also been built into a comfortable and attractive rural home, and be- come an asset of considerable value as a marketable piece of merchandise. On tills farm the mother of the family died in 1910, leaving nine of the ten children born to her, six sons and four daughters, to mourn their great bereavement.

Thomas M. Ludden was but two years old when his parents moved from Ohio to this state. He grew to manhood in Adair county, attended the public schools, and prepared himself for the profession of teaching at the Kirksville Normal School. He was then employed in teaching in Adair county until 1894, when he moved to Marceline with other lines of work in view. After his arrival here, however, he continued teaching three years, part of the time in Linn county and part in Chariton. In 1897 he opened a real estate, insurance and loan office, and this he is still in charge of, with a steadily increasing business and a strengthening hold on the confidence, regard and good will of the people. He has made a study of his business and all that pertains to it, and has become an acknowledged authority on all matters connected with or growing out of it, and it has grown in proportion to the mastery of it which he has exhibited.

Mr. Ludden was married on Thanksgiving Day, 1895, to Miss Anna Hardey, a native of McDonough county, Illinois. They have nine children: Gervaise J., Amonica, J. B., Thomas M., Jr., Willmia, Winifred, Earnest, Mary E. and May E. (twins); all living and all still members of the parental family circle, and all who are old enough attending school, as no one has a better knowledge or a keener appreciation of the value of education as a preparation for the duties of mature life than their parents.

In the political affairs of his township and county Mr. Ludden has taken an earnest interest and a leading part. His political faith is pledged and his zeal is devoted to the principles of the Democratic party, and for these he works at all times, although not allowing partisan considerations at any time to overbear his sense of duty toward his community. He served seven years as city clerk of Marceline and for a number of years has been a member of the school board and its president. In church connection he is a Catholic, and in fraternal relations a Knight of Pythias, a Woodman of the World, a Knight of Columbus and a member of the order of Knights and Ladies of Security. In business circles he stands high; as a citizen he is wide-awake, enterprising and progressive; socially he is warmly welcomed everjnvhere and an acquisition to any gathering; in the cause of public education he is an influential force, as he is in behalf of all good agencies at work among the people, and as a man he enjoys the esteem of all who know

Hon. Arthur L. Pratt

Holding the record for length of service in the office of probate judge in Linn county, and by that fact proving that his services in the office are well appreciated by the people of the county, Hon. Arthur L. Pratt, of Linneus has one very unusual distinction to his credit. But that is not the only fact in his record which is entitled to credit and honorable mention. It is also to be said in his favor that for years he practiced his profession as a lawyer with great success and public approval, that he filled an editorial chair in Linn county for two years acceptably, that he rendered the people of the county service that was highly satisfactory as circuit clerk for a full term, and that he attracted attention in his young manhood as a wide-awake, progressive and skillful school teacher.

Mr. Pratt is essentially in all particulars a product of Linn county and a representative of its most elevated and useful citizenship. He was born in the county on March 4, 1865, grew to manhood on one of its valuable and desirable farms, laid the foundation of .his education in its district schools, and began the battle of life for himself as an instructor of its youth in its common schools. He completed his education at Avalon College in Livingston county and at Kirksville, Missouri, but the work of these institutions were only the development and further training of faculties already bred and awakened to activity in Linn county, and was therefore nothing more than an application of an extraneous influence on material already well prepared in this county for the beneficial effect of any force, outside or inside the county, that might take hold of it.