Linn County, Missouri - Biographical sketches, 1912 (part 6 of 15)

Mr. Pratt is the son of Henry and Ibline (Connelly) Pratt, and the grandson of Jeremiah Pratt, a prominent citizen of Greene county in eastern Tennessee, where the judge 's father was born on March 6, 1825. He, also, was reared on a farm, and in 1841, when he was but sixteen years of age, left his native state and came to Missouri. On his arrival in this state he located in Linn county, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying on his Linn county farm on June 30, 1891.

On December 25, 1852, he was united in marriage with Miss Ibline Connelly, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Rice and Ibline (Baskett) Connelly. Seven children were born of the union : Dr. James

A., who died on December 17, 1908; Mary A., who is the widow of Daniel H. Manard, of Kansas City, Missouri ; William H., who is also a resident of that city; John F., whose home is in Paul's Valley, Chickasaw county, Oklahoma; Susan E., now the wife of AV. P. Thorne, of Linneus, this county; Oscar H., a resident of Meadville, Linn county; and Arthur L., the interesting subject of this brief memoir. The mother of these children died in Linn county, Missouri, on September 7, 1894.

When he was sixteen years of age Judge Arthur L. Pratt entered Avalon College, in Livingston county, this state, as has been noted, and he passed two years in that institution. He then pursued a special course of preparation for the work of teaching school at Kirksville Normal School, and after completing it devoted several years to teaching in the district schools of the county of his nativity. In the fall of 1890 he was elected circuit clerk of the county, and during the one term he served in this ofiSce he studied law with a view to making the practice of that profession his occupation for the rest of his days.

The judge was admitted to the bar in 1896 and began his practice in Brookfield. But carefully as he had laid his plans, and zealous as he was in his efforts to work them out, fate had destined him for other duties. His services were required, for a short time at least, in another field of labor, and an opening for the use of them in it, was not long in coming. In 1898 he purchased the Brookfield Btidget, and during the next two years he edited and published that paper in a way that brought him distinction in the county and gave him a potential voice in its public affairs.

But the work seemed to him to be interfering with his permanent designs, and in 1900 he sold the Budget to E. E. Gill and returned to his law practice. He had made his mark, however, and the people of the county were not oblivious of it. In 1902 he was elected probate judge of Linn county, and he has been kept in that office ever since, holding it for a longer period to the present time (1912) than any of his predecessors ever occupied it. As to the manner in which he has discharged his duties in this important position, the ability and integrity he has displayed in the performance of them, and the satisfaction he has given the people of the county during his tenure of it, comment is unnecessary. The electors have passed judgment on the subject by their repeated re-election of him to the office in a manner that, in force and sig-nificance, goes far beyond anything the pen of a biographer could record.

a native of Kentucky and the latter of Pike county, Illinois. Two children have sanctified the domestic shrine and brightened the household : Fabian L., a recent graduate from the medical department of Vanderbilt University at Nasliville, Tennessee, and now a resident of New York city, and Don Forrester, who is a resident of this county with his home in Linneus.

Albanes W. Baker

The progress and development of Linn county, and the counties that adjoin it on all sides, have brought into real estate operations in this part of Missouri many dealers of as many different measures of caliber and qualification for the business. Nature's inflexiljle rule, the survival of the fittest, has prevailed with reference to them, as it does with reference to everything else in the long run. The men who have shown aptitude for the business, whatever 'their previous calling, have succeeded in it and are still among its victorious operators.

Among those who have been successful in the business Albanes W. Baker, the junior member of the firm of Beauchamp & Baker, occupies a high rank and is firmly fixed in the confidence and regard of the people. He and his partner, Robert J. Beauchamp, a sketch of whom will be found in this work, have shown themselves to be ready and resourceful in taking advantage of every opportunity that has been presented to them, and also wise and farseeing in providing for the wants of prospective patrons. They study values and possibilities of improvement, keep themselves informed of the trend of the trade, and use all the means at their command to be ready for every requirement it may lay upon them.

Mr. Baker is a native of Warrick county, Indiana, and was born on a farm on October 25, 1869. His parents, William E. and Rhody J. (Hedges) Baker, were also natives of that county. They were reared and married there, and there the mother passed the whole of her life, dying amid the scenes and associations of her childhood and later life on February 7, 1882. Two years afterward the father, who was a farmer and dealer in farm implements, accompanied by his son Albanes, came to Missouri and took up his residence in Salisbury, Chariton county. He is now living retired from active business in Brookfield, where he enjoys the respect and good will of the people in a marked degree entirely in accordance with his worth.

who is a resident of Kansas City, Kansas ; and Arvilla, the wife of C. L. Henderson, of Kansas City, Missouri. The paternal grandfather of these children, Wilburn Baker, was also born and reared in Warrick county, Indiana. He passed the whole of his life in that county, and died there at a good old age and highly respected on account of his genuine worth and long life of usefulness. He was the father of four sons and one daughter, all of whom are still residents of Indiana except "William E-., the father of Albanes.

The family originally lived in South Carolina and descended from a Revolutionary soldier in the army of General Washington and under his immediate command, who came to this country in colonial times. His son William settled in South Carolina after the war, in which his father fought for the freedom and independence of the American colonies, although himself probably a native of England. But he imbibed the prevailing seatiment of the New World, which was deadly opposition to foreign domination, and with the virile independence and force of a real man, he put his faith in practice with fruitful results.

Albanes W. Baker was reared to the age of fifteen in his native county and began his education in its public schools. He came to Chariton county, Missouri, with his father in 1884, and then completed his education at the normal school at Chillicothe and the North Missouri Institute of Salisbury, Mo. He followed farming under the direction and in the service of his father until he became of age, and then taught school for sixteen years in Chariton and adjoining counties, also two years in Brookfield. 'Wliile engaged in this inspiring but nerve-racking occupation he filled a number of important positions, being principal of the schools in Avalon, Hale and Rothville, and making an excellent record in each, and now holds a life certificate to teach in Missouri.

In 1903 he came to Brookfield and took charge of the Hickman School, which he conducted until 1905, then resigned to enter into partnership with Mr. Beauchamp in the firm of which both are still members. The six years of their real estate and farm loan operations they have been steady and continued in their course of success and expansion in business, and they have risen to the first rank in the estimation of the people as judicious and discriminating dealers, with full knowledge of the business and its needs in this part of the state, and familiarity with the best methods of pro^^ding for all that it requires in every way.

On October 27, 1897, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Nellie A. Bushnell, a daughter of Harvey and Ruth (Mason) Bushnell, natives of Vermont who came to Missouri in 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have one child living, their son Francis E. The father served as county school commissioner in 1905, and has also been president of the city council. He is a Democrat in politics and zealous in the service of his party. Fraternally he is a Freemason of the Knights Templar degree and a member of the Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are devoted members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church and active in all its undertakings for the good of the community. They are widely known throughout the county and are everywhere regarded as most estimable and worthy citizens.

Charles L. Spalding

Nearly half a century has passed since Charles L. Spalding, of Brookfield first became a resident of Missouri, forty-five years since he located in Linn coimty, and twenty-one since he set up his domestic altar in the city of Brookfield. The period has been sufficient in length to give even an indifferent lounger along the pleasanter by-paths of life's highway an intimate knowledge of the people of the county and state, and awaken in him some degree of interest in their welfare. But Mr. Spalding has been no lounger or indifferent observer. He has been an active force of productive energy in the industrial and mercantile life of the state, and therefore necessarily a diligent student of the aspirations, needs and habits of its people, and the basic motives which impel them to exertion. To all their efforts for advancement he has given his earnest practical support, and in all their desires and longings he has had his full share.

Mr. Spalding is a native of the great state of Ohio, and was born at Eavenna, Portage county, on December 11, 1844. His parents were Ebenezer and Frances L. (Day) Spalding, the former born in Conn. Windham county, and the latter in Ravenna, Ohio. She died in St. Louis, Missouri. They had three sons and two daughters, all living but one.

The father was an attorney and made a good living for his family in his profession, furnishing its members with the comforts required for their physical wants and affording his offspring good educational facilities. He graduated from Yale, class of 1838 and Cambridge law school in 18.39. Practiced in northern Ohio and in St. Louis one year prior to his death, which occurred there August 17, 1866, of cholera.

His son Charles began his education in the common schools and completed it at Union High School in his native place, where he lived until October, 1865. At the age of eighteen he secured from the Chicago & Pittsburg Eailroad Company large contracts for supplies of timber, which he carried out with great profit to himself. When he attained his majority he moved to St. Louis, in this state, where he became warmly interested in the steamer Eosa Lee, and accepted a position as her clerk. The steamer was lost in the great ice gorge which occurred at the St. Louis levee on the Mississippi in the winter of 1865-6.

After this disaster Mr. Spalding was employed for a short time by Alkire & Co., wholesale grocers of St. Louis, and was recommended by them for the post of confidential clerk and bookkeeper to W. H. Elliott, of St. Catharine, in this county. He accompanied Mr. Elliott to St. Catharine, arriving on April 6, 1866, and at once took charge of the store and mill accounts of his new employer. He remained with Mr. Elliott in an intimate and confidential relation until 1875, when he purchased the stock and buildings of the business, and from that time until 1890 conducted its affairs on his own account. His trade expanded rapidly through his great enterprise and progressiveness, until, in 1881, it amounted to fifty thousand dollars for the year. After that it continued to increase from year to year with a steady progress, and when he sold it in 1890 was one of the most extensive in northern Missouri in the line of its operations. During all this period Mr. Spalding was also one of the largest buyers and shippers of wool in this part of the state, and one of the best known men in the country in that field of traffic.

In 1890 he sold his interests in St. Catharine and moved to Brookfield, where he had helped to organize the Wheeler Savings Bank and was also heavily interested in real estate. In addition to his interests in Brookfield at that time, and what he has since acquired, he is a stockholder in the Linn County Bank, of which he is director. He is connected also with many enterprises and holdings of value outside of this state, and although now at an age when many men retire from active pursuits, still gives his close personal attention to all his possessions and business affairs.

In his political faith Mr. Spalding is a firm believer in the principles of the Democratic party and always gives it and its candidates hearty and loyal support. But he has never sought or wished for public office for himself. He was married on December 26, 1870, to Miss Adella Crandall, a native of Concord, Erie county, New York. They have had four children, their son Elliott, their daughters Irene and Lena, and their other son Seymour. Elliott is a lawyer in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Lena lives in Billings, Montana. Irene and Seymour have died.

Mr. Spalding belongs to the Masonic order, and holds his membership in Brookfield Lodge No. 86 at Brookfield. He has served two terms as the worshipful master of that lodge, and taken an active part in the work of the fraternity in many other ways. He is prominent in the social life of the city and county, has a commanding influence in their business circles, is a potential factor in connection with their public affairs, and is universally regarded as one of their best and most representative citizens. Mrs. Spalding is one of the gifted and cultivated ladies of the country. Her graceful and resourceful pen has delighted thousands of readers of her magazine articles and other productions in literature, and given her a high rank among the occasional writers of our land.

Albert C. Clarke

Although nearly fifteen years have passed since the death of this leading and most highly esteemed citizen of Brookfield, his memory is still green in the minds of the people, who cherished him highly while he lived and revere his name since his death for his great enterprise in helping to build up the city and his genuine worth as a man and a citizen. His work for the community was substantial and enduring, and is today the best monument to his progressiveness and public spirit, and will be a benefaction to many succeeding generations of the people of the city yet to come.

Mr. Clarke was a native of the state of New York, and was born at Henderson, Jefferson county, in that state, on January 5, 1817. He was reared as a farmer, working under the direction of his father until he reached the age of fourteen. His father then hired him out as a farm hand to one of the neighbors and took and used his wages until he attained his majority. Under the circumstances he had almost no opportunities for attending school, being allowed to go only during the winter months, and even then but for a few years and when he could be spared from the work he was hired to do, and was kept at whenever his employer desired.

On coming of age he began life for himself as a farmer on rented land, but two years later bought forty acres of unimproved and unbroken ground near Sackett's Harbor in liis native state. He paid for this land by cutting wood on it, hauling it to the harbor and selling it at $1.25 a cord. He improved it and lived on it until 1844, when he turned his attention to dairying at Houndsfield, New York. The next year he bought 110 acres of partially improved land, the purchase price being $900 in money and his other forty acres, which were valued at

$600. The debt was discharged in two years, and from that time Mr. Clarke's prosperity was assured and his progress toward independence and wealth was rapid. By making additional purchases of land from time to time he became possessed of 1,000 acres in New York, and ranked among the leading farmers of the state.

He lived on his home farm of 110 acres until 1867, then sold it for $5,600 in cash. Two years later he moved to Missouri and located at Brookfield. He found here a great demand for ready money and, seizing the opportimity for furthering his fortunes as well as for being of service to the community, as he always did, he became a money lender and as such carried on an extensive business. He also kept a hotel for a number of years, making it the most popular and successful hostelry in the city.

In the meantime he purchased 100 acres of land adjoining the town and plotted into city lots about eighty acres of the tract. On these lots he built 100 houses, many of which he sold, but was still in possession of thirty-one of them at the time of his death. The property he added to the city limits, which is known as Clarke's Addition, was laid out and improved for residences, and Mr. Clarke planted rows of shade trees along its prospective streets, and in other ways made it very attractive.

He also realized soon after his arrival in the town the need of a better hotel than any in it, and in 1871 and 1872 built the Clarke block, an imposing structure three stories high and built of brick in a good style of architecture, at a cost, including its furnishings, of about $35,000. The first floor is devoted to business purposes and contains three rooms admirably adapted to their uses. The hotel is located in the second and third stories, was modern in every respect when erected and highly commended for the convenience of its arrangement and the completeness of its appointments. It was, in its prime, one of the leading ornaments of the city and very creditable to its builder's enterprise, public spirit and foresight.

Soon after completing this business house and hotel Mr. Clarke bought a valuable farm of 1,000 acres in Locust Creek township five and a half miles north of Brookfield, and also his grape farm, containing six acres of vineyard, and 320 acres of land in all, located in the vicinity of the city. From then to the end of his life, which came on January 26, 1896, he was extensively engaged in farming in the most approved modern style and with great success, his farm being a model in this part of the country.

children, all daughters and all now deceased but one, Climena, now the wife of E. J. Clark, of Linn county. Her mother died in 1885, and on January 5, 1887, the father married a second time, his choice on this occasion being Mrs. Mary Poole, the widow of J. H. Poole. Her maiden name was Mary Collins, and she was born in New York, a daughter of Luke and Phoebe (Bennett) Collins, who died in that state. Mrs. Clarke came to Missouri in 1869 and is still living in this county. She had one child, a daughter, by her first marriage. Minnie (she was Mrs. F. H. West at the time of her death), and has been dead for several years.

Although a man of prominence and influence, Mr. Clarke had no political ambition and never sought or desired a political ofBee either by appointment or election. He was content and found his greatest satisfaction in performing his duty to his community as a private citizen, and was constant and energetic in attention to it. The general welfare of the people around him was his chief concern, and the expansion and improvement of the city and county of his home his leading desire. He deserved well of the public, and all classes esteemed him according to his merit.

Joseph W. Moore

Joseph W. Moore, cashier and manager of the Moore Bank and city treasurer of Brookfield, is one of Linn county's most progressive, enterprising and representative citizens. He has a particularly deep interest in the welfare of the county from the fact that he was born in it, educated in its schools and has long been an active participant in its industrial and commercial activities, having, in fact, passed the whole of his life to this time (1912) within its borders and among its people.

Mr. Moore's life began on his father's farm near Linneus on July 5, 1861. He is a son of James A. and Sarah F. (True) Moore, a sketch of whom will be found elscAvhere in this volume. The son grew to manhood and attended the public schools, remaining at the parental fireside and taking his place in the working forces of the farm from his boyhood, just as other farmers' sons in the locality have done. After leaving school he engaged in farming until he reached the age of twenty-five, then moved to Brookfield and became a member of the firm of Powers & Moore, druggists.

He was connected with this firm and the drug trade eighteen years. In July, 1904, he and his father founded the Moore Bank in Brookfield, of which he was made cashier and manager at the start, and this position in the institution he has occupied ever since. He is also city treasurer of Brookfield, and is filling the office very much to his own credit and the satisfaction of the people. In this position he looks after the interests of the city and its inhahitants with sleepless vigilance, using his official power wisely and always for their benefit.

In politics Mr. Moore is an uncompromising Democrat in national aft'airs, and in all national campaigns he is energetic and effective in the service of his party. In local elections, while still adhering to his party under all favorable circumstances, he would never let partisan considerations outweigh the public good in his regard, and always has that first in mind. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church.

On December 25, 1887, he was married to Miss Louie E. Grain, a native of Illinois and daughter of Joseph J. and Lydia (Moore) Grain. The father is dead and the mother resides in Brookfield. Three children have been born in the Moore household, in which all of them still abide. They are: Euth L., Helen E. and Harold J. The family stands well in the community, and all of its members are held in the highest esteem. They are all active in good work for the mental, moral and social advancement of their city and county, and are everywhere taken as good representatives of the manhood and womanhood of Linn county in its best and most useful development and productiveness. They are unostentatious but sterling, and faithful to daily duty in every relation of life.

Thomas M.- Beesnehen

While a great deal may be justly claimed for the inspiring scenes and memorials of historic places, and their impulsions to heroic deeds in their influence on human lives, and no one can question the force of heredity on human character, all history teaches that earth has no choice spots for the birth of her strong men, and no one's characteristics are inherited whoUj^ from his ancestors. Often in this country men of heroic mould have been born and bred on the very confines of civilization, and even the almost untrodden depths of the wilderness have brought forth high types of majestic manhood. It is true, also, that almost every man, although he must show, in the very nature of the case, traits of mind and character similar to those of his progenitors, exhibits others wholly new in his family or individual in his ease.

a suggestive example of these facts. He was born and reared in a wild, undeveloped section of the country, and even though he inherited force of character, versatility of mind and adaptability to circumstances from his father he has developed and used these gifts in a way which proves that he came into the world possessed of other- faculties that have so blended with these as to make him a very different man.

Mr. Bresnehen may not improperly be called a product of Brookfield, although he was born on April 16, 1860, within the present limits of the city, it is true, but before there was even a straggling hamlet on its site. Here, however, he began his education and grew to manhood, surpassing the town in the rapidity of his development. For the latter he has since atoned by helping to promote its growth and improvement by every means at his command and exerted his influence to get others to do the same. No enterprise for the good of his community has ever gone without his aid since he reached man's estate, and his aid has always been freely given and intelligently applied.

He is a son of Thomas and Honora (Daily) Bresnehen, natives of County Kerry, Ireland, where the father was reared to maturity, but he married his wife in the United States, whither he came in 1847. He landed at New York city and at once began sub-contracting on railroad work through New York, Indiana and Illinois. Continuing his progress westward, he arrived in Missouri in 1857, and soon afterward secured a contract in grading work on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad west of Brookfield.

On the completion of the road he bought a farm near what is now the city of Brookfield, and on this farm he lived until his death in 1885. Of their seven children four are living, three sons and one daughter, Thomas and his sister being the only ones resident in Linn county. In politics the father was a loyal member of the Democratic party during the whole of his citizenship in this country, but he never sought or cared for public office. He and the mother were zealous and consistent members of the Catholic church.

Their son Thomas completed in the State University the scholastic training he began in the primitive country school near his home. He was graduated from the university in 1882, and immediately began the study of law under the direction of Judge Brownlee. So apt and progressive was he in mastering the principles of his profession that he was admitted to practice it in 1883, after but one year's study. From then until now (1912) he has been an active general practitioner of the law in this community, with a steadily expanding practice and rising reputation as an attorney and counselor. Although giving attention to all departments of liis profession, lie has made something of a specialty^ of criminal law, and in that fruitful field of practice has risen to eminence in this part of the state.

Mr. Bresnehen was first associated in the practice with J. M. Johnson for a time, and then with the late H. K. West until his death in 1907. Since that event he has been in partnership with Henry J. West, a brother of H. K., under the firm name of Bresnehen & West. He was elected prosecuting attorney for the county in 1890 and held the office continuously until 1898. While serving the people in that capacity he was as capable, zealous and resolute in their behalf as he has ever since been in the service of a client charged with any wrong against their peace, dignity and government, being always faithful in the performance of his dutj'.

In political faith and allegiance Mr. Bresnehen is a Democrat of firm belief in the principles of his party and great energy and effectiveness in its service. He has been for some years a member of its state central committee, and as such has proven himself a vigorous and skillful leader and a wise and capable organizer. He is a member of the Catholic church.

On November 18, 1886, Mr. Bresnehen solemnized his marriage with Miss Isabel Hamsom, a daughter of Orrin and Elizabeth (Tenny) Hamsom, who came from Massachusetts to Missouri in 1868. One child has blessed the union and brightened the household, a daughter named Vivian H., who is a graduate of the State University and has received from that institution the degree of Master of Arts. She is a young lady of fine mental endowment and culture, and one of the ornaments to the social life of the county.

This fine, enterprising and progressive financial institution, which is the oldest and largest in Brookfield, and the second in age in Linn county, has had a striking, and in some respects a remarkable history. It is a very suggestive fiscal entity, too, for its record parallels that of the region in which it is located, and its progress has exactly kept pace with that of Brookfield and the surrounding country, in the development and improvement of which it has been a potent and highly serviceable factor.

of the banking house of H. De Graw & Co., which had been doing a flourishing business in the expanding and aspiring city for some years. In 1882 it was made a state bank with a capital stock of $10,000. This was soon increased to $20,000, then, in 1893, to $30,000, afterward to $50,000 and finally to $100,000, which it is at this time (1912). This rapid development speaks for itself. The territory tributary to the business of the bank was improving rapidly, and the bank had to keep pace with it and hold itself in readiness to meet the constantly increasing demands on its resources. Here is the history of Brookfield and Linn county for the last thirty years condensed in a few figures, which, however, speak volumes in what they embody.

The first officers of the bank were: W. H. Brownlee, president, and AV. H. De Graw, cashier. Mr. Brownlee served as president until 1893. In that jear H. De Graw was elected in his place. Resigning in May, 1895, he was again elected president in 1902 and served until 1906. In that year E. M. Lomax became president, and he has served the bank and the community in that capacity ever since. The pi'ogress of the institution under his management has been steady, wholesome and continuous. The volume of its business has grown to great proportions, its popularity has been widely extended and deeply intensified, and its rank in the business world has reached the highest plane among the banks of the state.

W. H. De Graw, the first cashier, who had also been president for some years, from 1895 until his death in 1901. But prior to that time, in 1895, he had resigned as cashier, and when he did George W. Stephens succeeded him. In 1904 the present cashier, C. H. Jones, was elected to the office, and since then he has been the inspiration and directing power of the institution. He was well prepared for his duties by obtaining a good academic education and special training in several commer,cial colleges.

George W. Martin has occupied the office of vice president of the bank for many years. He was one of its founders, and from the beginning of its career has been connected with it in a leading way. The present officers in full are: E. M. Lomax, president; George W. Martin, vice president; C. H. Jones, cashier, and W. W. Martin, assistant cashier. The directors, in addition to these gentlemen are: H. De Graw, C. L. Spalding, R. W. Davis, R. S. Smith and R. X. De Graw. They all stand well in business circles and are accounted among the best citizens of Linn county.

counts, $426,302.07; overdrafts, $26.21; bonds, $24,000; and cash and exchange, $89,250.71; making a total of $539,578.99. Its liabilities at the same time were: Capital, $100,000; surplus and undivided profits, earned, $70,834.84; individual deposits, $322,481.11, and deposits from other banks, $46,263.04. The bank is well managed, vmiting in its policy enlightened progress with judicious conservatism, and does a general business embracing all approved features of modern banking. The people believe in it fully because it has fully demonstrated its strength and reliability.

Oliver Cramer

Connected with the mercantile activities of Brookfield for a period of thirty-six years, and during that time devoting all his time and energy to business, except what has been required for the faithful performance of the duties of citizenship, Oliver Cramer, one of the leading dry goods merchants of the city and this portion of the state, has well earned the high rank he holds in the regard and good will of the people as a business man and the general esteem in which he stands as a man and citizen. For, in his long residence in the city he has shown that he is sterling, upright and straightforward, and cordially and helpfully interested in the enduring welfare and progress of the community.

Mr. Cramer is a native of Illinois, and was born in Jasper county of that state on March 15, 1862. He is a son of Isaiah and Margaret (Custis) Cramer, the former born in Ohio and the latter in Kentucky. The father was a farmer and school teacher; he died in 1866. The mother lived until 1894. They had three sons and one daughter, and labored diligently to rear their family to the best advantage. Oliver is the only one of their offspring who lives in Linn county, and his record is highly creditable to the rearing they gave him.

He grcAv to the age of thii'teen in Livingston county, Missouri, then came to Brookfield and began to earn his own living as a clerk in the store of L. T. Boss. Later he became a partner of Mr. Boss and the active manager of the business of the tirm. But in the meantime he was employed by the house of H. Emanuel & Co. for some years. In every position and business connection he showed fine capacity, sedulous attention to duty and a warm interest in the welfare of his employer, and these manifestations have been of advantage to him in many ways. They were elements in promoting his progress, and they have been potential in establishing him in the confidence and esteem of the people ever since.

In 1884 he opened a dry goods emporium of his own, and since then he has conducted one of the leading marts in his line of trade in the city, and managed it with primary reference to the wants of the community. In all his dealings he has been strictly square and in the operation of his business he has given Brookfield and Linn county a fine example of superior business enterprise, up-to-date methods and a sweep of vision that is comprehensive enough to take in both present needs and future requirements and provide for all in the most satisfactory manner.

Mr. Cramer is a stockholder in the Brownlee Bank, and has been at all times active in the service of the city and county of his home. He gave intensified vitality and force to one of the great public institutions of the city as a member of the school board, on which he served six years, and in connection with every other public interest he has been zealous, energetic and effective in his advocacy and support of the best that is known in designs and the methods of working them out.

On February 22, 1883, he was united in marriage with Miss Alice McKinzie, a daughter of John and Catherine McKinzie. Her father died in 1863, while serving in the Union army, and the mother makes her home with our subject. Four children, all living, have been born of the union: Edward E., who resides in the state of Montana; Loring T., also a citizen of that great and promising state; and Rosetta and Walter E., who are still living at home with their parents, and adding life and light to the parental family circle.

The father is a Freemason of the Knights Templar degree, and he and all the members of his family are members of the Presbyterian church. In the congregation to which he belongs he has been one of the trustees for many years, and one of its most faithful workers from the beginning of his membership in it, and. his services have been highly valued by the other members.

Mr. Cramer is now one of the oldest merchants in Brookfield. He began his mercantile career in the city when it and the surrounding country were just beginning to show renewed vitality after the devastation and stagnation of business incident to the Civil War, and he has been a potent factor in all their subsequent progress and development. Whatever Brookfield and Linn county are today they owe in considerable measure to his enterprise, which has harmoniously coalesced with that of others for the common good and general advancement of the region. The people of the city and county know this, and they appreciate him and his services accordingly.

William M. Bunch

Popular as a man and citizen, standing high in business circles and in the first rank of his profession as a pharmacist, William M. Bunch, one of the leading druggists of Brookfield, has commended himself to the esteem and good will of the people of the city and county of his home by his character, usefulness and extensive attainments, and also by his mastery of his art and conscientious care and skill in the practice of it. The accuracy and excellence of his prescription work is well known throughout the city and a large extent of the surrounding country, and has given him a very enviable reputation among the people.

Mr. Bunch is a native of Macon county, Missouri, and was born near Atlanta on October 17, 1867. He is a son of David and Binda (Cook) Bunch, both natives of Missouri and for a number of years residents of this county. The father is a farmer living north of Brookfield, where he cultivates a fine farm with skill and the intelligent application of modern methods of agriculture. The family located in Linn county in 1874, and have had their home in it from that time to the present, and been valued elements of its industrial and social life, and appreciated aids in all its moral and intellectual agencies.

There are eight children belonging to the household, one son and seven daughters, and six of the eight live in this county. Their paternal grandfather, James Bunch, was born and reared in Kentucky. He moved to Missouri and located in Macon county in about 1840, and some time afterward changed his residence to Linn county, where he died at a good old age. His forefathers were pioneers in Kentucky, and he became a resident of Missouri while much of the state was still undeveloped and but sparsely settled.

William M. Bunch reached his maturity in this county and obtained his education in its schools. He was engaged in farming until 1891, then came to Brookfield to clerk in the drug store of C. M. Easton and later performed the same service in that of Charles Green. While acting as clerk in these stores he studied the science of pharmacy and acquired a thorough knowledge of it with a view to going into the business on his own account, and this he did as soon as he was prepared for the undertaking.

He opened a store of his own in 1906, and since that time he has been closely attentive to its requirements and built up a considerable trade for it. He is careful in the selection and preservation of his supplies, buying only the best and purest drugs, uses great diligence in keeping- them from deterioration, and applies the widest knowledge and utmost skill in compounding them in prescription work. By these means he holds and enlarges his patronage in the community and maintains his rank in the business and his elevated place in the confidence and regard of the people.

In matters outside of his business also he deserves and enjoys the approval and esteem of tlie public. He is a man of public spirit and enterprise in connection with all projects designed to push forward the progress and work out the development and improvement of his city and county, and his services in this respect have given him high standing as a man and citizen. There are many forceful factors in harness to make Brookfield and Linn county all that Nature designed they should be and the energy of man can make them, and he is one of the foremost.

Mr. Bunch was married in Brookfield on March 30, 1893, to Miss Cora E. Theobald, a daughter of Lewis and Sarah (Ditto) Theobald, prominent residents of Brookfield for many years. Two children have been born of the union and brightened the home circle, of which they are still members, Gladys I. and Sadie. They are ornaments to the social life of the city and popular wherever they are known, following modestly and gracefully in the footsteps of their parents in this respect.

The father has never taken an active part in partisan polities, but he has always been attentive to the claims of good citizenship and met all their requirements faithfully and intelligently. He has, however, shown a cordial interest in the fraternal life of the community as a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America, and in religious affairs as a devoted and zealous member of the Baptist church, to which his wife and daughters also belong, and in which they are Avorking members.

Charles Green

The late Charles Green, one of the pioneer druggists of Brookfield, whose death on August 20, 1910, east a deep shadow of grief and gloom over the whole community, was a fine specimen of the mastery given a man for his business Ijy long study and thorough training. He began the study of pharmacy when he was a boy and continued it to the end of his life. It liad ever opening vistas for him and he always found something in the science to learn for his own improvement and the advantage of his patrons, and he gave them the benefit of all his acquisitions.

Mr. Green was born in London, England, on March 20, 1847. His father died while the son was in his childhood, and the mother married a second husband. The son was apprenticed to a London apothecary in his boyhood, and worked for his employer and tutor seven years as an apprentice. By the end of that period he was thoroughly trained in the business and he was then licensed as a pharmacist, with full privilege to practice under the English law. He did not, however, remain long in his native country after receiving his license. The United States seemed to beckon him with a welcoming hand and a voice full of promise of enlarged opportunity.

Accordingly in 1867 he came to this country and located for a time at Henderson, Kentucky, intending to make his home there. But at the end of one year he moved to St. Louis, where he remained a year and a half. In 1870 he came to Brookfield, and here he passed the rest of his life. For a short time after his arrival in Brookfield he worked for W. T. Snow. But working for another man was not in accordance with his spirit or desires, and he therefore soon opened a drug store of his own, and this he conducted continuously until his death.

The people soon learned that he was mor<^ than ordinarily capable and careful in his work, and his trade grew to large proportions. His reputation spread throughout this county and those which adjoin it on all sides, and he became an authority on all intricate questions connected with his calling. So accurate was he in his knowledge and so careful in his investigations that his judgment was universally accepted as the last word in any case of uncertainty or controversy.

On August 21, 1882, Mr. Green was married to Miss Laura Smith, a daughter of Hiram and Mary (Curry) Smith, natives of Franklin county. New York. Four children were born of the union, two of whom died in infancy. The other two are living and are a daiaghter named Beatrice and a son named Charles 0. The latter is now conducting the business founded by his father and keeping the reputation of the store up to the high standard it has so long maintained. His mother died in 1893, and on December 25, 1895, the father married a second wife, his choice on this occasion being Miss Sarah Smith, a sister of his first wife. They had one child, their son Arthur. The second Mrs. Green died in 1901.

but lie was never &n active partisan and never sought or desired a public office, either by election or appointment. His business, which at one time included a wholesale drug trade and extensive dealings in ice, coal and real estate, met all his desires in the way of occupation, and he gave his whole attention to it, except what was required for the duties of citizenship, which he never neglected. He found satisfaction for his religious aspirations in the Episcopal church, of which he was a regular attendant from his boyhood. He was a most estimable man and universally esteemed as such.

Charles W. Clements

This prominent and successful business man of Brookfield, head of the milling firm of Clements Milling Co. and influential citizen of Linn county, is a son of the late Richard W. Clements, a sketch of whose life will be found in this volume. He was born in the state of Delaware, city of Wilmington, on August 29, 1868, and in his social life and business career in this county has exhibited all the admirable traits of character and graces of manner which distinguish the people of his native state, wherever they are found and whatever they are engaged in.

Mr. Clements remained in his native state until he reached the age of nine years and began his scholastic training there. He came to Brookfield with his parents in 1877, and finished his education here. After leaving school he farmed for a time, then engaged in railroad work for a number of years. Eleven years ago, in association with his brother Carroll L. Clements, he started the milling business which now occupies him and in which he has been continuously engaged ever since he began it. In the management of his enterprise he has shown fine business capacity, highly commendable energy and a full knowledge of trade conditions and requirements. These qualifications have enabled him to make his plant profitable and win for it a high rank in the estimation of the business world and the general public, and have also given him high standing in business circles.

Mr. Clements has given his business close and exhaustive attention, but he has not allowed it to absorb the whole of his time and energy. He has been assiduous in the performance of the duties of good citizenship, and particularly energetic and serviceable in his aid of every commendable project for the progress and improvement of the county and city in which he lives, and in which he feels as strong and genuine an interest as he could if he had been born within their confines.

He was married on February 16, 1891, to Miss Lena Perry, a daughter of John and Susan (Wadsworth) Perry, of the state of Oregon. Nine children have been born of the union, two of whom, Charles and Max, have died. Those who are living are Milton W., Fay S., Richard W., Keith, Mary 0., Byron H. AV. and Adelbert E., all of whom are still living at home with their parents. The father is a stockholder in the Western Hinge Manufacturing Company, and interested in other business enterprises of value to the community. In politics he is a Democrat, and in fraternal relations a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, the Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World, and is serviceable to them all in his membership.

Carroll L. Clements, a younger brother and the business partner of Charles W., was born in the state of Maryland on February 13, 1871, and lived in that state until he was six years old, when he was brought to this county by his parents. He grew to manhood in Brookfield and obtained his education in its schools. When the time came for starting the milling business in which he and his brother are engaged, he was ready for his part of the undertaking, and he has been connected with it as a member of the firm throughout its history. In the management of the business he has been a valuable aid to his brother, and its continued prosperity and steady expansion are due to their joint efforts, which have been conducted in perfect harmony, and greatly to their mutual advantage, as well as to that of the city of Brookfield and the county of Linn.

Like his brother Charles, Mr. Clements is full of public spirit and gives it expression in ser\'ice to the people of the county in ardently supporting whatever is undertaken for their substantial welfare and greater comfort and convenience. The genius of progress and improvement has no more intelligent, energetic or judicious assistant in the community and none whose efforts are more generally appreciated. He is discriminating in his work in this respect, and his judgment always has weight.

Mr. Clements was married on February 16, 1891, to Miss Mary A. Miles, a daughter of Levi and Mary B. (Hamilton) Miles, of Brookfield. The four children who have been born in this Clements household are all living and still under the parental roof-tree. They are Raymond L., Easter D., Vernon R. and Muriel A. The father is a member of the Order of Woodmen of the World, and takes a cordial interest in the camp in the fraternity to which he belongs, as he does in everything with which he is connected. Both he and his brother are accredited to the first rank in their community as men, as citizens and as forceful business factors, and they are fully deserving of the regard and good will so freely and universally bestowed upon them throughout the county of their home.

Dr. Charles E. Jenkins

Born and reared to the age of eight years in Illinois, then beginning his education and attaining his manhood in Iowa, obtaining special training for the profession of teaching at the Lincoln Normal University in the capital of Nebraska, and practicing that profession in the two states last named. Dr. Charles E. Jenkins, of Brookfield, had an extensive and varied acquaintance with men in different localities before he became a resident of Missouri. After his arrival in this state he soon showed that he was well qualified for the new profession he had entered, and his reputation in it has grown steadily as his practice has expanded ever since.

Dr. Jenkins was born in Marshall county, Illinois, on March 6, 1870, and is one of the eight children, seven sons and one daughter, of Jacob W. and Susie (McLaughlin) Jenkins, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Illinois. The paternal grandfather and progenitor of the family in this country, was Moses Jenkins, who was born and reared in Ireland and on his arrival in this country located near Philadelphia. Later he moved to Illinois, where his life ended after long years of uprightness in living and usefulness in the service of the people among whom he labored. He was a farmer, as was his son Jacob, the doctor's father. Of the eight children born in the family of the latter five are living, the doctor being the only one who resides in this state.

When Doctor Jenkins was eight years old the family moved to Iowa. His father is still living, having his residence in Arkansas City, Arkansas. In his new home the doctor grew to manhood and began his education in the public schools. After completing their course of instruction he passed two years at the Lincoln (Nebraska) Normal University, from which he was graduated in 1894. He then taught school in Iowa four years and afterward was assistant professor of mathematics and physical culture in the Lincoln Normal University, from which he received his first degree.

In 1896 he began the study of medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, which he attended two years. By the end of that period the Spanish-American War was in progress, and the doctor promptly turned away from all academic and professional pursuits in

Ms ardent desire to aid in vindicating the honor of our country and the claims of humanity on wliich the war was based. He enlisted in Company B, Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was made color sergeant of his regiment before he was long in the service. The regiment was sent to Manila, and there the doctor was in the midst of hostilities for many months. He took part in fifteen engagements, and escaped unhurt, but had one close call, a bullet passing through his hat. He was discharged from the army in 1899.

After the close of his military service he returned to his home and resumed his medical studies, for this purpose matriculating at Rush Medical College in Chicago. He was graduated from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1900. Including two years of study in theory and practice at the Cook County (Illinois) hospital. He began his practice in Iowa and has pursued it in several other states, being now a registered physician and surgeon in Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Missouri. From 1903 to 1908 he was connected with the Burlington Railroad Relief Service, being sent to Brookfield, this county, in the year first named as medical examiner for the organization. He resigned this position in 1908, and since then has been engaged in an active and growing general practice.

Dr. Jenkins is zealous and energetic in keeping up with the progress of his profession. He pursued a special course of instruction and study in the Post Graduate School in New York city in 1911, and he has long been connected actively with the Linn County, the Missouri State and the Grand River Medical societies. He takes a prominent part in the proceedings of these organizations, securing what benefit he can from them himself, and contributing to the benefit of the other members and the interest and value of their meetings by thoughtful theses on professional topics and profitable participation in the discussions which always form the most interesting and helpful exercises during the sessions.

In June, 1903, Dr. Jenkins was united in marriage with Miss Hattie M. Long, of Iowa. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and one of the trustees of the congregation to which he belongs. In the public affairs of the county and state he takes an earnest interest and a serviceable part, doing whatever he can to aid in promoting the welfare of the people in all their moral, mental, social and civic relations. In politics he trains \Yith the Republican party, but he is not an active partisan and has no desire for a political office of any kind. He is wedded to his profession, and that gives him enough to do to keep him busy and sufficient in the way of distinction to satisfy

Ms ambition. The people of Linn county regard him as one of their most upright, progressive and useful citizens, and all classes of them esteem him according to this estimate.

Dr. Fred Peery

The science and art of dentistry - for the proper mastery and practice of what is known by the name of dentistry includes both science and art - must be recognized as comprehending one of the most progressive departments of human industry, especially in its practical work and the appliances and methods appertaining to it. At best its unwelcome but necessary operations have terror in the contemplation and real suffering of the most acute kind in the experience of them, and its practitioners are entitled to the highest commendation for the progress they have made, by exhaustive study and practical skill, in diminishing the terror and alleviating the suffering incident to them.

Dr. Fred Peery, of Brookfield, has won an enviable reputation for his enterprise and zeal in keeping up with the most advanced thought in the profession in mitigating pain, and the application of its latest discoveries in his work. He is also held in high regard as a practical and artistic workman in giving to his handicraft the finest finish and greatest adaptability known to the profession, which has been and is another line of its progress, its aim seeming to be to give its beneficiaries the most beautiful as well as most useful products, according to their requirements.

Dr. Perry's life began in Locust creek township, Linn county, Missouri, on February 8, 1874. He is a son of Thomas J. and Martha B. (Burnett) Peery, who are also natives of this county. The father was born in 1848, and has always followed farming, in which he is, still actively engaged. He has taken an earnest interest and a serviceable part in local public affairs, notwithstanding the quiet and retiring nature of his pursuit, having served as a justice of the peace during the last twenty-five years.

Joseph A. Peery, the doctor's grandfather, was born and reared in Parkersburg, in what is now West Virginia, and came to Missouri in 1845, and to Linn county in 1846. He built a flour mill on Locust creek, three miles from Linneus, which was the first mill in that part of the county, and drew patronage from all parts of the surrounding country for many miles in all directions. He operated this mill for many years, but gave up all active pursuits in the declining period of his life. The mill stood as a landmark until 1908, when it was dismantled, although it had become an object of veneration among the people. Its builder and first owner died in Linneus in 1866.

During the Civil War he served in the Union army, enlisting at Linneus, and two of his sons went with him to the field of carnage, James W. and Henry C. Here is the record of one generation in usefulness to the country in peace and war. But the family is more deeply rooted in American soil and has been of service to the American people through many generations. Its first representatives in this country came over from England early in our colonial history, locating at Jamestown, Virginia. Those living at the time of the Revolution took part in that memorable struggle for the independence of the country, and in all subsequent times its members have been faithful to every call to public duty. The family from which the doctor is descended moved to Parkersburg many years ago and was established in the neighborhood of that city for a long time.

Dr. Fred Peery has passed the whole of his life to the present time (1912) in this county, except when he was completing his academic education at Chillicothe, in the adjoining county of Livingston, and while preparing for his professional work in the dental department of Washington University, in St. Louis, from which he was graduated in 1904. Prior to going to the LTniversity he taught school for a number of years, and in 1896 was elected county surveyor for a term of four years.

After leaving this office he was variously occupied for a time, then made up his mind to become a dentist. Immediately after his graduation he located in Brookfield, where he has ever since been actively and profitably engaged in the practice of his profession. He has for years been an active member of the Northeast Missouri Dental Societj^ and a valued contributor to its helpful proceedings, from which he has himself derived substantial benefits through the interchange of ideas with his professional brethren while giving them the advantages of his own knowledge.

In his political relations the doctor has always been a firm and consistent Democrat, and for some years has been one of the local leaders of his party, serving it as secretary of its county central committee and in many other ways through the wisdom of his advice in its councils and the energy and effectiveness of his work in the field. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. On March 7, 1897, he was united in

Joel W. Clements

Joel W. Clements, one of the leading grocers of Brookfield, was bom and reared to the age of thirteen in the state of Maryland, whose history is glorious in peace and war, and whose record challenges the admiration of all students of American chronicles. His life began in that state on September 5, 1864, and he is a son of Richard W. Clements, a sketch of whom will be found in this work. His parents and his grandparents were born and reared in Delaware, but the former lived for a time in Maryland.

From there his parents came to Missouri in 1877, bringing their offspring with them, as they had decided to pass the remainder of their days here. Their son Joel grew to manhood in this county and completed in its schools the education he had begun in those of his native state. For ten years after he took up the battle of life for himself he was engaged in farming, and following that was employed for seven years by B. J. G. Bettelheim selling farming implements.

In 1904 he started business in the grocery trade on his own account, and in that line of commercial enterprise he has been occupied ever since. He has been successful in his mercantile venture, as he has in everjrthing else he has undertaken, and is now regarded as one of the leading business men of the city, modern, up-to-date and progressive in every way, and familiar with every phase and feature of his trade. He studies the markets, and knows how to use them to the best advantage. He also studies the wants of the community, and keeps himself and his stock at all times prepared to fully provide for them in his lines of commodities.

Mr. Clements is, moreover, a man of great public spirit and enterprise in reference to public improvements and the development and improvemnt of his city and county. He takes an active interest and a leading part in the execution of all projects designed to promote the welfare of his locality and benefit its people, and his zeal in all such undertakings is highly appreciated for the intelligence he applies to it, the excellent judgment he exhibits and the great and stimulating energy he puts into the work.

On December 23, 1885, Mr Clements was joined in marriage with Miss Phoebe L. McNish, a native of Ontario, Canada. She is a daughter of George and Levina McNish, who came to Missouri in 1867.

Mr. and Mrs. Clements have had six children, five of whom are living: George W., Laura L., Levina M., Joel, and Grace E. The father is connected fraternally with the Masonic order, the Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a zealous and effective worker in all these organizations and their other members hold his alliance with them in high appreciation. In politics he is a Democrat, always loyal to his party but never an active partisan or candidate for office. He is faithful, however, in the strict performance of all the duties of citizenship according to the highest standards, and is regarded by all classes of the people as one of their best business men and most useful and representative specimens of elevated manhood, with lofty ideals as his guide and a strong sense of duty as his controlling impulse and motive power.

C. H. Jones

It is a wide-spread and generally accepted belief that the city, as an abstract entity contains the head and the country the heart of every people. However this may be, it cannot be denied that all cities get the greater part of their heady or brainy forces from the country, either directly or not more than one or two generations removed. Most of the men and women who attain distinction in any line of activity are either themselves from the country, or their parents or grandparents were. Our brightest and most capable business men, for instance, in all our great cities and in most of our smaller ones, have gone from the farm to the counting house or other place of business, either directly or by successive stages of advancement.

A striking illustration of this fact is furnished by the business career of C. H. Jones, the present cashier of the Linn County Bank in Brookfield, and the impelling and directing spirit of all its activities. He was born on his father's farm in Chariton county, Missouri, on February 21, 1868. He was reared to manhood on this farm and began his academic education in the country school in the neighborhood of its location. He afterward attended the State Normal schools at Chillicothe and Stanberry, this state, and commercial schools in both those cities. He finished his commercial training at the Gem City Commercial College in Quiney, Illinois, being graduated from that institution, as he was from each of the other business schools which he attended.

former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Vermont. The father was a farmer and moved to Illinois in eai'ly life. In 1864 he came to Linn county and farmed here one year, then exchanged his residence to Chariton county in 1865, and jDassed the remainder of his life there, dying on the farm he had cultivated for twenty-two years in 1887. The mother died there in October, 1911. They were the parents of three children, tlieir son, C. H. Jones, and his two sisters. Two of the three are residents of this county.

C. H. Jones began his business career as clerk in a bank at Mendon in his native county, in which he remained a year and a half. He then attended the Chillicothe Normal School for a time. On December 15, 1892, he became a resident of Brookfield and a bookkeeper in the Linn County Bank. On January 1, 1893, he was made a director of the bank and its assistant cashier, and in 1904 was elected to the position in its official force which he now holds, and has filled continuously from that year.

Mr. Jones has given the bank and its affairs his close and careful attention from his first connection with it, but he has not allowed it to engross the whole of his time and energy. His mind is too active in its operations and too comprehensive in its sweep to be satisfied with one interest or line of endeavor. Other avenues to business and social advancement have engaged him, and he has proven a valuable addition to the forces working in them. He is a stockholder in the Linn County Abstract Company and secretary and treasurer of the Brookfield Commercial club.

On August 4th, 1898, he was married to Miss Effie A. Moore, the daughter of James A. Moore, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume. They have no children. In fraternal life Mr. Jones is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is at all times deeply and intelligently interested in the progress and improvement of Brookfield and Linn county, and cheerfully does his part in helping to promote their advancement. He is universally regarded as one of Linn county's best and most enterprising and useful citizens.

Richard W. Clements

(Deceased) The late Richard W. Clements, who died on February 16, 1909, after a residence of thirty-two years in Brookfield, was for a long time one of Linn county's leading and most esteemed citizens. In business, in public oflSce and in private life he was an ornament to the county and one of its most forceful factors in connection with everything that aided in advancing its progress and improvement. His life among the people of the county was highly useful, and his death was universally regretted by them.

Mr. Clements was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 28, 1842. His parents, Joel W. and Margaret (Lamden) Clements, were also Delawareans by nativity, and lived a long time in their native state. The father was a Methodist Episcopal preacher born in 1807. He came to Missouri in 1870, and lived in Linn county until 1877, when he returned to Delaware, where he died the same year. His widow is still living in that state. She was his second wife. The first bore him three children, and by his last marriage he became the father of fifteen more.

Richard W. Clements, one of the offspring of the first marriage of his father, was reared to manhood in his native state, and began in its public schools the education which he completed by a four year's course at Harvard University. After leaving that institution he farmed for a number of years, then removed to Baltimore, and during the next seven years was in the employ of a large business house as bookkeeper. The year of the Centennial, 1876, was passed by him in Philadelphia. From there he returned to Delaware and engaged in the furniture ti-ade for a few months.

But the East grew wearying to him and he longed for a sight of the great striding West, with its vast breadth of view, its wonderful enterprise, its lofty aims and its great wealth of opportunity, and in August, 1877, he came to Missouri and located in Linn county. For a little while after his arrival he engaged in farming, and after that passed a short period as a clerk in the postoffice in Brookfield. While so engaged he was looking around for an opportunity to go into business for himself and soon found an opening that he considered promising, as it proved to be.

In 1879 he started an enterprise in the grain trade and milling industry, and this occupied him until his death thirty years afterward. While he conducted the business he built it up to large proportions and great activity, and made it one of the leading mercantile and commercial enterprises in this part of the state. He was possessed of fine business capacity, intense energy and a wide knowledge of trade conditions, all of which were valuable assets in the expansion of his operations, and his genial manner and obliging disposition won him universal popularity. He was a gentleman of high character and fine social cul- ture, and the people of Linn county, and in all other localities in which he was known, recognized his true value and esteemed him accordingly.

Mr. Clements was married in Delaware, on November 20, 1863, to Miss Martha E. Jackson. They became the parents of eleven .children, six of whom are living: J. Watson, a successful grocerjTnan; Charles W. and Carroll L., who are partners in the milling business, and a sketch of whom appears in this work; Mabel E., who is living at home with her mother; Harry H., who is engaged in railroading, and Albert E., who is conducting an active grain and coal trade.

Their father was a Democrat and usually gave the candidates of his party hearty and effective support. But in the campaigns of 1896 and 1900 he voted for Mr. McKinley for president on account of the financial question involved in the contests. He had no desire for public office himself, but did serve eight years as clerk and assessor of Brookfield. He was a member of the Masonic order for many years and exemplified its teachings in his daily life. He was also a member of K. of P., the Modern Brotherhood of America, the Woodmen of the World, and Knights and Ladies. His religious connection was with the Methodist Episcopal church, and in this also he took great interest and was a zealous and effective worker, serving the congregation to which he belonged many years as one of its stewards. In all the relations of life he was upright and correct, giving eveiybody who came in contact with him cause for admiration and respect, and standing forth, unassuming and modest as he was, as one of the best and most representative citizens of the county, a credit alike to the state of his birth and the state of his adoption, and altogether worthy of the universal esteem bestowed on him in both.

James C. Tooey

The son of one of Brookfield 's pioneers, and the present head of the H. Tooey Mercantile Company, which is the outgrowth of a small store starting and kept by his father, that was the first real store in the place, James C. Tooey is entitled to special consideration as a link connecting the present with the past in a particularly interesting way, and the enterprise in industrial, mercantile and commercial life which now distinguishes the city of his home with the dawn of all systematic industry and development on its site.

many families. He is a son of James and Katherine (McCormick) Tooey, and was reared in tlie town of Ms nativity and educated in its primitive public school, as it was in the time of his boyhood. In 1888 he began clerking in the store of his cousin, Henry Tooey, whose life story is briefly told on another page of this volume. He remained with his cousin and in his employ until the death of the latter, when he succeeded him as president of the mercantile company which he had founded a number of years before.

This institution is one of the leading mercantile enterprises in this part of the. state and enjoys an extensive trade and a wide popularity.

In politics Mr. Tooey is an unwavering Democrat, zealous in his loyalty to his party, but not an active partisan or in any sense an officeseeker. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious affiliation is with the Catholic church. In all these organizations he takes an active interest and a leading part, and his membership in each is highly valued by all who are connected with or interested in them.

On February 18, 1903, Mr. Tooey was united in marriage with Miss Martha Hunter, at the time a resident of the state of New York. They have two children, their daughters Elizabeth C. and Carolyn G., who greatly brighten their homestead and add to its attractiveness for the numerous friends of the family who frequent it, and who find it a center of refined and gracious hospitality and social culture. The parents are energetic and efficient aids in all worthy undertakings for the good of the city and county of their home and are highly esteemed wherever they are known.

Henry Sornberger

In a section of the country in which the spirit of progress and development is as fruitful, energetic and productive as it has been in Linn county and its adjoining neighbors for a number of years of our recent history, a live, wide-awake and resourceful real estate dealer - the man who has or can find something to sell to meet every requirement, or who can find a market and a purchaser for everything in his line that is up or can be taken up for sale - is a valuable agency in his community and a forceful factor in promoting the substantial welfare and advantage of its people of both classes, those who come and those who go.

advancement, and for the general improvement and development of the region in which he operates, for a number of years. His transactions have been most extensive and fruitful in Linn county, but they have not been confined within its borders. He has been so successful in his operations, and shown such entire mastery of the business in which he is engaged, that his dealings have extended far beyond the boundaries of his own county, and made scores of persons outside of its limits tributary to his enterprise, as well as a much larger number resident in his own territory.

It is not intended in these remarks to belittle the firm of which he is a member, or ignore the work of his partner, Mr. Bailey, for they are worthy of the highest commendation and entitled to full credit and the highest praise. And it is through them that Mr. Sornberger has been able, in large measure, to win his own triumphs. But these paragraphs are devoted specifically to the achievements of Mr. Sornberger, and must deal with them without more than incidental reference to the surroundings that have made them possible and contributed to their magnitude and success.

Mr. Sornberger is a contribution of the great state of Illinois to the business force of the country. He was born in Streator, in that state, on August 5, 1868, where his parents, Andrew and Susie (Bickerton) Sornberger, were living at the time. The father, who is still living, and is now more than eighty years of age, and one of the patriarchs of Kidder, Caldwell county, this state, was born in the state of New York, and the mother's life began in Newcastle, England.

The father was a sailor in his young manhood and followed the sea for a number of years, visiting many countries and observing the customs of their people. But for a long time he has been a farmer in the interior of Missouri, undisturbed by the activity of the world outside, and passing without notice the myriad footfalls on the stony pavements of its busy streets, and the showy records it has been seeking to emblazon on the annals of history. He rode the waves of many seas for a time, and as far as human power could do it, helped to command them to the service of mankind. He also engaged in the great and disastrous sectional strife in our country, and did his part to bring it to a conclusion serviceable to the interests of our race and promotive of the enduring welfare of every clime and tongue in the effort to free human life from chattel slavery.

During our Civil War he served in Company K, Eighty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in defense of the Union, entering the army in 1862 and leaving it with an honorable record in 1865, when "the war drums throbbed no longer, and the battle flags were furled." He was at Fort Donelson when that Confederate stronghold surrendered to the superior i^rowess and equipment of the Federal arms, and ^wdth General Thomas in all his heroic operations around Chattanooga. He was often in the very maelstrom of destruction, but he escaped disaster himself, and when his military service was ended, he returned to his former home and resumed the peaceful pursuits in which he had engaged before the war.

The family moved from Illinois to Caldwell county, Missouri, in 1869, and for many years thereafter the father engaged in farming. He has now been living retired from all active pursuits for more than six years. He acts and votes with the Republican party in political affairs, but he is not and never has been desirous of official station for himself. The mother has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church during the last thirty years. The living children born to them number four. On the father's side the family is of German origin, and its American progenitors were early settlers in the state of New York.

Henry Sornberger came to this state with his parents when he was only about one year old. Here he grew to manhood and was educated, attending the public schools and Kidder Institute in Caldwell county. From 1890 to 1907 he was employed by the Burlington Railroad as agent and telegraph operator along the line, serving four years in Brooktield in this capacity. The long period of his employment by the railroad company passed without one mark of discredit being registered against him. That is the kind of man he has shown himself to be in every engagement he has had and in every relation of life, wherever he has lived.

In 1907 he resigned his position with the railroad company in order to give his attention to the business in which he is now engaged, and in this he has been eminently successful, as has been already intimated. His continued triumph in his undertaking has been due to natural ability developed and quickened by training in other pursuits, and to the clearness of vision in seeing and the alertness in seizing and using to the best advantage the opportunities that have been presented to him or found by him in the constant and resourceful activity of his mind.

Mr. Sornberger was married on March 18, 1894, to Miss Emma Lively, of Henry county, Missouri, a daughter of William H. Lively, long a highly respected farmer of that county, but now retired from all active pursuits and living in Henry county, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Sornberger have two children, their son Paul A., who was born on September 7, 1896, and their daughter Ofalita M., who was born on February 8, 1899. The parents belong to the Presbyterian church in Brookfield, and the father is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

George W. Bailey

Having passed the whole of the fifty-six years of his life to this time (1912) in this county, mingling freely in its activities, contributing his portion to its progress and development in several lines of usefulness, and always, in every way, performing faithfully and wisely the duties of .good citizenship, George W. Bailey is well and favorably known in all parts of the county, and richly deserves the firm hold he has on the confidence and regard of all classes of its people. He has been of service to the region in all the lines of endeavor to which he has turned his hand, and has also given it a good example of public spirit and enterprising progressiveness in all that pertains to its welfare.

Mr. Bailey is wholly a product of Linn county. He was born on a farm within its borders, near New Boston, on May 9, 1855. He was reared on its soil and drew from that his stature and his strength. He was educated in its schools, acquired his social tastes and habits from association with its people, and even secured his professional training under the tuition of two of it leading lawyers. Whatever he is, therefore, he is all Linn county's own, and in his manhood and his record he is a credit to the region of his origin and rearing.

His parents were John G. and Mary (Forest) Bailey, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia. The father was born on a farm near Glasgow, Barren county, in "the dark and bloody ground," in 1818, and a few months afterward the family moved overland by teams to Missouri, locating in Howard county. There the son of the household grcAv to manhood, his experiences being nowise different, perhaps, from those of other boys similarly situated. He helped to redeem a tract of land from the wilderness, attended the primitive schools of the time and locality, enjoyed the sports the frontier afforded, and endured the privations it entailed.

In 1839, when he was twenty-one years old, he moved to Linn county and here improved a farm for himself, as he had helped to improve one for his father, a portion of his land being entered from the government. On this farm he lived all the rest of his days, dying on it in 1897. His wife died there also, her death occurring in 1890. They had five sons and four daughters who grew to maturity, and of them eight are now living, four of them being residents of Linn county.

The paternal grandfather, Jacob Bailey, was born and reared in Maryland. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and made a good record as such in that short but decisive contest, which resulted in making our ships and sailors as free on the high seas as the Revolution did our people on land. In his young manhood he moved to Kentucky, and late in life to Missouri. He passed his last years in Linn county, this state, and died here at the advanced age of ninety-eight years.

George W. Bailey was reared on his father's farm and educated in the public schools. After reaching a suitable age he taught school himself for a number of years, and from 1879 to 1882 was editor and proprietor of the Brookfield Chronicle, a Democratic newspaper. In 1882 he began the study of law under the direction of Messrs. Stevens & Smith, of Liuneus, and in 1884 he was admitted to the bar. He began practicing at Brookfield, and for twenty-one years was attorney in that city for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, but during that period also kept up his general practice with growing success and patronage, and in addition carried on a flourishing real estate and loan

Mr. Bailey now represents the Missouri Savings Bank of Kansas City, and does an extensive business all over Linn county and those that adjoin it on all sides. He was a justice of the peace for five years. But although a firm and faitliful adherent of the Democratic party, he has never been desirous of holding office and has never sought any, either by election or apiDointment. His business has occupied his attention wholly, except wherein he has recognized the claims of citizenship and given time and energy to the duties involved in that. In this respect he has not been to any extent parsimonious, but has freely taken his part and performed his whole service to the city and county of his home in helping to promote every undertaking desigTied for the progress or improvement of either.

In June, 1887, he was united in marriage with Miss Mollie Melville, of Albany, New York. They have one child, their daughter Lois M., who is the wife of Ray Jones of Topeka, Kansas. All the members of the family belong to the Episcopal church, and are zealous workers for its welfare and advancement. The parents are among the most esteemed citizens of the county, are prominent in all domains of usefulness for the good of the people, and fine exemplars of Linn county hospitality, social culture and elevated manhood and womanhood. They are widely knoAvn throughout this portion of the state, and in all places where they have acquaintances they have friends and strong popularity.

Histoey Of Lixx Couxty 469 Henry Clay Prewitt

Born with an adventurous disposition, and inheriting from his father a tendency to go about and see something of the world, Henry Clay Prewitt, one of the substantial and influential citizens of Linneus, this county, gratified his desire at an early age, and had a very interesting experience in doing it. But he fully satisfied his longing in one venture, and has ever since remained in one locality and been steadfast in his efforts to build that up and develop it to its highest condition in every way, while at the same time pushing his own advancement in a worldly way with all the energy and capacity he possessed.

The place of Mr. Prewitt 's nativity was Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, and the date of his birth, June 29, 1835. He is a son of David and Nancy (Turner) Prewitt, and the only one of their nine children now living. The father was born in Halifax county, Virginia, on December 21, 1791, and the mother in Madison county, Kentucky, in 1798. The father went with his parents to his wife's native county when he was a small boy, and in his new home he grew to manhood, was educated, and began his career. He and Miss Turner were married in about 1812, and for some time afterward he was in business in that county as a contractor.

When he determined to move his family to the Farther West, of which Missouri was then a part, he and his wife made the trip on horseback, he carrying one of their two children on his horse and she the other one on hers. Their journey through expanses of trackless wilderness and the beginnings of civilization in many places was full of incident and interest, but the record of it has not been preserved. They arrived at their destination wayworn and weary, but not otherwise the worse for the long and tedious jaunt. Their household goods were transported down the Ohio and up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to the point of landing them most convenient to their location, the latter being near Fayette in Howard county, which was then sparsely settled and largely undeveloped.

The father took an active interest in the affairs of the county and was a leading man in building up and improving the portion of it in which the family lived. In 1832 he was elected sheriff of Howard county, and at the end of his first term was re-elected, serving two terms in all. In 1840 he moved his family to Linn county, and here he and his wife passed the remainder of their days. He died in Linneus on December 22, 1873, and the mother in the same place on March 16, 1870.

Their son Henry was but five years old when the change of residence from Howard to Linn county took place. He obtained his education in subscription and public schools in this county, remaining at home until he reached the age of seventeen. Then, fired by the excitement over the discovery of rich deposits of gold in California, he determined to brave the dangers and hardships of an overland journey to that state in search of a more rapid improvement in his fortunes than he saw opportunity for at home. In accordance with this purpose he joined a company about to start for the land of promise with ox teams, and boldly ventured on the expedition.

The journey consumed five months, the party was attacked several times by hostile Indians, hunger, thirst, weariness and other discomforts were frequent portions of its experience, and at times the progTess was painfully slow and difficult. But the hardy adventurers patiently toiled on, and at length they reached the locality they sought and began operations in search of the golden treasure they had come so far to find. They located and "stuck their stakes" at Eldorado, which was then in Placer county, and Mr. Prewitt remained there four years and three months. He was successful, accumulating about $2,000 in his mining operations, and then came home by steamer down the Pacific, crossed the Isthmus of Panama by such means of transportation as were then available, and continued his journey by water across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi and Missouri to his father's residence, or as near as he could get to it by that route.

The next year, when he was twenty-two, he engaged in mercantile business in Linneus, and he continued in trade in that city thirty-five years. He also took an active part in public affairs, and in 1888 was elected county treasurer. This office he filled two full terms to the entire satisfaction of the people of the county, and with a record highly creditable to himself. He has never been an office seeker, however, and in the case alluded to yielded to solicitation in accepting the nomination and the renomination, because he felt that he might be of service to the county in the office if elected. His political connection is with the Democratic party, and his church affiliation is with the sect known as the Christians.

Mr. Prewitt was married on February 22, 1857, to Miss Mary Frances Hunt, a daughter of Henry M. and Elizabeth (Frazier) Hunt, prominent citizens of Ray county in this state. Six children have been born of the union, three of whom are living: Flora, who is now Mrs. Wood O'Rear, of Linneus; Elizabeth, who married Thomas Atkin- son and lives with him at Middlesboro, Kentucky; Maggie, who was the wife of E. A. Corey, of Linneus, both now dead; and Fannie Clay, the wife of Benjamin H. Smith, of Long Beach, Los Angeles county, California. In their several localities all the members of the family enjoy in a marked degree the regard and good will of the people among whom they live and labor.

John C. Phillips

Treading now close upon the verge of four score and ten years of life, and having passed the whole of his existence in this state, John C. Phillips of Linneus is a shining link connecting the present day activities of this region with its primitive life of toil, privation and danger in its pioneer period of struggle, patience, endurance and hope. He saw the region when, clad in the barbaric splendor of the wilderness, it awoke at the voice of high command from its deep sleep of ages and rose to greet its lord, the genius of civilization. He has lived to see it filled with the homes of a prosperous and progressive people, well advanced in the development of its resources, rejoicing in its beneficent civil institutions, and rich in all the essentials of cultivated life. The retrospect of his years may well give him pleasure in the reflection that he has been of service in helping to work out the transformation and bring about the great improvement he is able to see all around him.