Ray County, Missouri - The whole text, 1881 (part 15 of 23)

William Wallace Mosby was born near Georgetown, Scott county, Kentucky, June 1st, 1824. His father, James Mosby, was a native of Virginia. He was a farmer in moderate circumstances in Kentucky, but emigrated t® Mississippi in 1826; remained in that state two years, and in 1828 moved to Callaway county, Missouri. He was an ardent friend of Henry Clay, and a warm advocate of his political views, though he never sought preferment at the hands of his party. His mother, Elizabeth Robards, was a daughter of Capt. George Robards, a Virginia planter, who emigrated to Mercer county, Kentucky, where his daughter, Eliza, was born. She was a devoted christian, and was deeply interested in the reformation introduced by Alexander Campbell. Her earnest prayers and exemplary Christain life were the means by which her husband, though after he had passed the meridian of life, was brought into the church, of which he remained a consistent member until his death, January 9, 1871. Her motherly devotion had a strong influence in moulding the character of her children, all of whom became members of the church. William W. Mosby received a sound English education, together with a pretty thorough knowledge of Latin and Greek, from private schools. At the age of eighteen he began the study of medicine, under Dr. Franklin Dillard. He attended the medical department of Transylvania University, in the class of 1844-5, and the Louisville Medical College, in the years 1845-6. Up to this time his work had been very arduous. His father had a large family, eight children, dependent upon him, and he was unable to supply his son with the necessary funds to complete his education. Young Mosby, therefore, worked during the planting and harvesting season, and attended school in the winter. As soon as he was sufficiently advanced to teach school, he followed that avocation, obtaining a sufficient amount to enable him to attend one course of lectures. He borrowed money to complete his medical course, and graduated, to rind himself in debt, and without means. He immediately selected Richmond, Ray county, as the field of his future labors, not having, at the time, sufficient means to pay for a week's board. He soon after formed a partnership with Dr. Joseph Chew, now of Kansas City, which lasted about eighteen months. But he was ambitious to build up a reputation on his merits, and withdrew from the partnership to begin what afterward became a large and lucrative practice. He subsequently entered into partnership with Dr. Henry C. Garner, which lasted from 1866 to 1873. Dr. Garner became cashier ot the Ray County Savings Bank, and the partnership was dissolved. He has always been able to attend promptly to all calls for his professional services, and to this he attributes much of his success. He is thoroughly read in his profession, has a large, well selected library, and spends much of his leisure time in the study of the more modern authors on the theory and practice of medicine and surgery. In 1847, he took an interest in a drug store with Marion F. Ball and Mordecai Oliver, under the firm name of Marion F. Ball & Co. This firm existed for some time, when he purchased the interest of his partners and associated his sons with him, and still continues the business in the name of W. W. Mosby & Sons. At the beginning of the civil war he enlisted in the enrolled Missouri militia and was appointed surgeon, serving as such two years. When Colonel John C. Hale organized the fourth provisional regiment, he was appointed regimental surgeon, with the rank of major, and served until 1864, when the regiment was disbanded. In the fall of 1862, he was elected to represent his district, embracing the counties of Caldwell, Carroll, Clinton and Ray, in the state senate, and served four years. While a senator he opposed the bill calling into existence the convention that subsequently adopted the Drake constitution, and also the test oaths and registration which were so obnoxious to the people. In 1876, he was re-elected to the same position, receiving a majority of nine hundred over both his opponents. In politics he was a whig during the existence of that party, and a strong Union man during the war. Since that time he has co-operated with the democratic party. He was four years president of the board of education of Richmond College, and has always been an advocate of whatever would promote the educational interests of the country. A warm friend of the temperance cause he was a member of the Sons of Temperance only two or three months, till he withdrew, believing that the temperance cause should be controlled by the church. He was four years a director in the Union Bank of Missouri. He is a member of the Christian Church and has been an elder in that body for over thirty years, and superintendent of the Sunday-school (which he assisted in organizing) for twenty-five years. Dr.

Mosby was married September 29, 1847, to Miss Sarah Catharine Jacobs, daughter of Joel Jacobs, deceased, a farmer of Ray county, a native of Virginia, who died before the marriage of his daughter. They have had six children. The eldest son died suddenly of malignant diphtheria, at the age of twenty-two, when he had just finished a thorough study of the science of medicine, and was prepared to begin the practice. His second son, Charles Archibald, has adopted his father's profession, and is associated writh him in practice. Charles and John are in charge of the drug store. William is conducting a farm. Mary Eliza and James Edward are at home with their parents.

Joseph E. Black

Joseph Edwards Black, second son of James and Nancy Black, was born in Jefferson county, Virginia (now West Virginia) April 25, 1832. When about five years of age, his father and the family removed to Ohio, and after residing in that state a number of years, moved to Pennsylvania, where he principally resided till he emigrated to Missouri. On the 16th day of March, 1852, Joseph E. Black located in Ray county, Missouri, where he has ever since continued to reside. He received his education in the common schools of the various places where his parents resided. He took a thorough course in mathematics, as well as a general course in the branches of an English education, including the natural sciences; and also a course in Latin, and a partial course in Greek and German. He is a studious, careful reader, and has endeavored by close application, to become familiar, at least with English literature, and in this particular he has met with admirable success; his knowledge of the best British and American writers - poets, historians and romancists - making him an excedingly interesting conversationalist, and a most agreeable and instructive companion. He followed the profession of teaching about fifteen years, having taught about ten years in Ray county. He was elected school commissioner of Ray county in 1860, and as teacher, commissioner and private citizen, has devoted a great part of his life to the promotion of educational interests. He was admitted to the bar in Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, April 20, 1862, and has, excepting one short period of interruption, continued in the practice of the law ever since. He has been quite successful as an attorney, as well in the United States courts, and the supreme court of Missouri, as in the lower courts. He ranks high as a lawyer both in point of legal ability and moral worth. He acted with the Benton democracy of Missouri until the commencement of the civil war, when he joined the republican party, writh which he acted until 1878, when he became a member of the greenback party; and since that time he has taken an active part in promulgating the principles and policy of this political organization. In addition to the office of school commis- si'oner, he filled the office of county attorney for Ray county from January 1, 1869, to January 1, 1873; and has held other offices of trust. In 1870, he was a candidate for representative in the state general assembly. He served in provisional company C, 51st regiment, E. M. M., from the organization of the regiment to September 17, 1864, whenever it was called into active service. On the date last mentioned, he was commissioned adjutant of the regiment, to rank from July 5, 1864, and was in active service during part of that year. Upon the organization of the state militia in 1865 - May 12th - commissioned adjutant of the 1st regiment of Missouri militia, and was immediately ordered into active service to assist Col. R. S. Moon in organizing the Missouri militia in the third sub-district, first militia division of Missouri, including Ray, Clay, Platte and Clinton counties. Col. Moon was relieved, and Adjutant Black completed the organization, and served till September 30, 1865. He was a contributor to the editorial columns of the Richmond Herald, mentioned elsewhere, and has contributed, more or less, to almost every paper published in the county. August 21, 1859, Joseph E. Black was married to Miss Mary Sabina, daughter of Haden S. Trigg, Esq., a biographical sketch of whom will be found elsewhere. Mrs. Black is an amiable, intelligent lady, and to her much of the success, and all of the happiness of her husband is due. They have had nine children, of whom three sons and a daughter are living, as follows: Joseph E., Jr., Ann A., William W. and Eugene D. His property in the city of Richmond, Ray county, was in the path of the cyclone which utterly destroyed a large portion of the city, June 1, 1878. The greater portion of his family was at home, and escaped without injury, but his material loss, like that ot many others, was very great. In the midst of misfortune and discouragement, and without any available means or assistance from the fifteen thousand dollar fund contributed by the public for the benefit of sufferers from the cyclone, he managed by great exertion to rebuild his residence, and was the first one to return with his family to the storm-stricken district. Disdaining to sacrifice principle to a desire for popularity, he has ever been found defending the rights of those, of whatever nationality, least qualified by their wealth, influence, or power to recompense him for the sacrifices he has made. Making duty his guiding star, he is consoled by the reflection that its faithful performance will meet with an appropriate reward. While occupying prominent public positions, he necessarily took an active part in all questions agitating the public mind, and his views have always been liberal, and of an advanced character.

Elijah F. Esteb

Elijah F. Esteb was born March 28, 1832, in Wayne county, Indiana. He was entered a student at Whitewater College, Centerville, Indiana, and at that institution received the greater part of his education. After leaving school he chose the law as his profession, and entered upon its study with ardor and a determination to succeed, if success could be accomplished by indefatigable energy, perseverance and economy. He had for his preceptors the late Honorable Oliver P. Morton, afterwards a distinguished member of the United States senate, and Nimrod Johnson, one of the ablest lawyers of his day. Naturally of superior intellect, quick to comprehend, with a mind at once synthetic and analytical, it readily grasped the abstruse, subtle propositions of the different branches of the law, and his progress was easy, rapid, and thorough. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar. Having qualified himself for the profession by a severe course of reading, under the instruction of the ablest attorneys in the state, he was prepared to enter at once upon the large and lucrative practice that awaited him in Wayne, Union, and neighboring counties. He continued to practice in these counties with gratifying success for five years, a most liberal proportion of all litigated cases being entrusted to his attention, notwithstanding his contemporaries at the bar were much older, and had already become distinguished in the profession. But like many other young men, he desired to seek his fortune in the great west, and in 1857 he left Wayne count v, Indiana, and going to the state of Iowa, settled Jn a county of the same name as the one he had left in Indiana. While a citizen of Iowa he was elected by the people to a seat in the upper branch of the state legislature, and rilled that position with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction and profit of those whom he represented. While in Iowa, he also edited, for one year, a paper known as the South Tier Democrat, and in the capacity of editor, proved that his versatility of intellect qualified him for other fields of mental labor, than the practice of the legal profession, although for the latter he was peculiarly fitted, not only by special preparation, but by his talents and inclination. In 1864 he moved to Caldwell county, Missouri, and was, in 1865, appointed circuit attorney for the fifth judicial circuit, which office he held till January, 1869. While in that county he was also appointed one of the curators of the state university, at Columbia. In 1866 Judge Esteb removed to Richmond, Ray county, of which place he has ever since been a respected citizen. His ability as a lawyer is acknowledged by all who know him, and he is above reproach as a man of integrity and excellent moral character. September 10, 1855, Elijah F. Esteb was married to Miss Rebecca W. Mills, a native of Ohio. They have had two children, one' of whom, Frank L., died at the age of six years; the other, Ralph Eugene, born October 24, 1861, lives with his parents, and is a student at law under the instruction of his father. He is a graduate of the Kemper Family School, of Booneville, Missouri. Judge Esteb and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.

George A. Stone

George A. Stone, son of George Stone, was born May 23, 1843, in Livingston county, Missouri. His father was a native of Virginia, born in 179S, and died November 3, 1871, in Livingston county, Missouri. In 1863 Mr. Stone crossed the plains to Idaho territory, where for one year he engaged in mining. He spent another year in Utah, Arizona, and California, after which he returned to his home, in Missouri, and resumed his former occupation, that of farming. In 1874 he entered into the mercantile business, and sold goods at Mooresville. The following year he shipped his goods to Waxahoochie, Texas, where he remained one year, and returned to Missouri, locating at Richmond, in which city he sold goods about four years, and at the same time studied law. He was admitted a member of the bar in January, 1880, since which date he has devoted his time to the practice of the law, and to the real estate business. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and so, also, is his wife. He also belongs to the Richmond Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He was married October 16, 1866, to Miss Mollie Hudgins, of Richmond. She is a native of Missouri, and an estimable and accomplished lady. They have four children: Irene, born August 5, 1867; Clarence B., born July 10, 1869; Karl E., born January 25, 1879; infant girl, born December 6, 1880. George A . Stone is a popular, promising attorney, and has the confidence, good will, and esteem of the entire community.

Thomas N. Lavelock

Thomas N. Lavelock was born on the first day of the year A. D. 1854, in Sangamon county, Illinois, but in his infancy his parents moved to Dallas, Texas. They remained there only a few years, however, and about 1857 they moved to Richmond, Ray county, Missouri. Mr. Lavelock received a thorough literary training at the Richmond College, Richmond, Missouri, and, in 1878, graduated from the law department of the Missouri State University, at Cohimbia. In July, 1S78, he opened a law office in Richmond, and entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1880, in connection with George W. Trigg, he purchased the abstract of title records of the late Captain George N. McGee, and since that time has devoted part of his attention to the title abstract business. He also represents, as agent, several leading American insurance companies. He has been quite successful in the practice of the law, and, though young, has a large and remunerative business, the result of continued industry, sobriety, integrity, and manly deportment. He is urbane, obliging, and kind, of benevolent disposition, a true friend, and a warm-hearted, genial gentleman. He is not yet in the prime of manhood, and his future is bright with promise. His father, born about the year 1818, was a native of Ireland. He emigrated to America, and died in Ray county, in 1863.

James D. Taylor was born in Ray county, Missouri, July 30, 1834. His father is David Taylor, a native of Pittsylvania county, Virginia. He immigrated to Missouri, and settled in Ray county, in 1833, and is yet living, in good health -

Dr. Taylor commenced the study of medicine in 1857, in the office of Doctors Joseph Chew and G. W. Buchanan, of Richmond. He subsequently attended the St. Louis Medical College, from which he graduated with honor, in 1861. After his graduation, he returned to Richmond, and entered the practice of the profession, for which, by a thorough course of reading, and instruction at the best medical school in Missouri, he qualified himself. With the exception of a period of interruption during the civil war, he has practiced in Richmond since he graduated. In the fall of 1861, he joined the Confederate army, as surgeon of the first Missouri cavalry, and served until he was captured at Mt. Vernon, Missouri, in the fall of 1862. He was paroled, returned to his home, and did not again enter the army, but pursued the practice of his profession. Dr. Taylor has always had a lucrative practice. He is skilled, thoroughly conversant with the science of medicine in its every branch, prompt, attentive, careful and vigilant. James D. Taylor's urbanity and good nature are proverbial; he is pleasing in address, polite, courteous, and especially attentive to the stranger who bears the impress of a gentleman. He was married February 10, 1861 to Fannie E. Duvall, an accomplished, and only daughter of Isaac Duvall, a well known and honored citizen of Ray county. They have one child living, Carl D., born April 16, 1872. Dr. Taylor and wife are members of the Christian Church. He also belongs to the order of A. F. and A. M. He has never sought office or preferment at the hands of his fellow-citizens, preferring to discharge the duties of his profession, untrammeled by extrinsic affairs. He has, however, been mayor of the city of Richmond.

George W. Trigg

George W. Trigg is a native of Ray county, Missouri. He was born November 30, 1816. His father, Haden S. Trigg, a biographical sketch of whose life may be seen elsewhere in this volume, immigrated from Tennessee to Missouri at an early day, and settled in Ray county. Here

George was reared on a farm, in the management of which, when not at school, he assisted his father. He received a good education, which he has continued to improve by reading and study. In the fall of 1863, he moved with his parents to Booneville, Missouri, and in 1864 went to Sangamon county, Illinois, where he remained five years, the two last years of which time he was engaged in teaching school. In the spring of 1869, in company with his father's family, he returned to Ray county, Missouri, and was employed for a time in the office of Messrs. Doniphan & Garner, attorneys at law, after which he was engaged as clerk in the Ray County Savings Bank, for two and a half years, at the end of which time he was elected cashier of the bank, He discharged the duties of his position creditably until in 1875, when he went to St. Louis to become book keeper in the wholesale grocery house of Messrs. Keach, Sloan & Company, but returned to Richmond in August, 1876, to accept the position of deputy circuit clerk of Ray county. He retained his position until January 1, 1879, when, having been elected clerk of the Ray county court at the general election in November of the preceding year, he entered upon the duties of that office, and is now serving the people of Ray as their county clerk. He is a capable, honest and faithful officer, as well as an ingenuous, generous and obliging gentleman. June 26, 1873, George W. Trigg and Miss Julia N.Jenkins, of Springfield, were united in marriage. She is an accomplished lady, and by her cheerful disposition and wifely devotion, gladdens the home of her husband. They have three children, as follows: George A., born November 1, 1875; Eleanor G., born May 20, 1877, and Frank W., born February 1, 1880. Mr. Trigg is a member of Richmond Lodge A. F. and A. M.

Warren W. Ewing

Warren W. Ewing was born November 25, 1854, in Ray county, Missouri. He received his education at the Richmond College. In the spring of 1874 he was employed as salesman in the dry goods store of McDonald & Davis, of Richmond, and retained this position till in 1877, when he purchased Mr. Davis' interest in the store. In the fall of 1878 he sold out, and rebuilt the Shaw House, which had been partially destroyed by the cyclone of June 1st, 1878. He conducted this hotel till the autumn of 1879, when he sold it, and in connection with his present partner, built the large and imposing brick edifice on the north-east corner of the public square, in which is the opera house and the elegant storeroom of Fowler & Ewing. Mr. Ewing is an energetic, enterprising young man, and deserves much credit for what he has done in behalf of the city of Richmond. He and his partner, Mr. Fowler, have a large, elegant and complete stock of goods, and receive, as they deserve, a most liberal patronage. Mr. Ewing is the present treasurer of the city of Richmond, an office he has held for years. He is a Mason, and secretary of Richmond Lodge, A. F. and A. M. November 27, 1877, Warren W. Ewing was married to Miss Fannie E. Shaw, of Richmond, Missouri, of which city she is a native. She is a lady of rare accomplishments, winsome manner, and cheerful, and felicitous disposition. They had one child, Virgil C, born September 15, 1878; died March 6, 1880.

James W. Smith is a native of Ray county, Missouri, and was born May 7, 1848. His literary training was acquired at Richmond College, Richmond, Missouri. In 1869 he entered the drug store of Taylor & Donaldson, where he remained as clerk (at the same time studying medicine) till the fall of 1872. As medical student, Doctor Geo. W. Buchanan, of Richmond, was his preceptor till he entered the St. Louis Medical College, from which he graduated in the spring of 1874. After graduating he entered upon the practice of his profession at Orrick, Ray county. In the spring of 1876 he returned to Richmond, and formed a partnership with Doctor J. D. Taylor, buying also an interest in the drug store of Taylor & Ringo. He continued the practice of medicine and a druggist and pharmacist, in connection with Doctor Taylor, under the firm name of Taylor & Smith, until March 1, 1881, when they dissolved, W. C. Patton, Esq., purchasing the interest of Doctor Taylor in the drug store, while Doctor Smith retained his interest therein, and continues the practice of medicine alone. Doctor Srrfith is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, as is his wife, an accomplished lady, nee Mary V. Bates, a native of Ray county, to whom he was married December 14, 1876. He is also a member of Richmond Lodge A. F. & A. M. He is a successful practitioner, a genial gentleman, and useful citizen, and as such is highly respected and esteemed.

Robert B. Kice, a native of Indiana, was born September 9, 1837. In his infancy, however, he was taken to Booneville, Missouri; thence, after a short time to Lexington, Missouri, where he grew to be a man. He was educated, so far as respects his literary training, in what was then the Masonic College of Lexington. He graduated from that institution in 1855; and then going to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, two winters attending the celebrated Baltimore Dental College, and graduated therefrom in the spring of 1858. After his graduation, he located, for the the practice of his profession, in Richmond, Missouri, where he has ever since remained, in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice and of the esteem of all who know him. He believes in the old adage, " A rolling stone gathers no moss," and has remained at Richmond, steadily and success- fully pursuing his profession, for which he is qualified by thorough training, continued application, and long experience. Robert B. Kice was married October 27, 1858, to Miss Joaella Jacobs, of Ray county. They have five children living: George J., born May 6, 1867; John D., born March 27, 1869; Effie M., born January 6, 1873; Robert B., born February 8, 1876, and Daisy, born November 4, 1877. Dr. Kice is a leading member of the Masonic fraternity.

Burnett Hughes

Burnett Hughes was born in Ray county, Missouri, January 28, 1850. He was educated at the State University, Columbia, Missouri, and reared on a farm. In 1872 he entered the banking house of Hughes & Wasson, Richmond, Missouri, as book-keeper, where he remained until January 1, 1876, when he was elected cashier of a bank at Salisbury, Chariton county, Missouri. January 1, 1877, he and his father bought the interest of George I. Wasson in the banking house of Hughes & Wasson, since which time he has devoted himself to the business of this bank. He is a member of the Christian Church, and so is his wife. He was married January 26, 1876, to Miss Kate Morehead, of Leavenworth City, Kansas. She is a native of Lexington, Missouri. They have two children living: Ralph B., born September 17, 1878, and James M., born June 20, 1880. Mr. Hughes is an active, energetic young man of fine business capacity, temperate, reliable, and of unexceptional moral character.

Captain Eli Hughes

John Hughes was a native of Virginia, and was born in the year 1782, and died in Perry county, Indiana, in the year 1861. He served as captain under General Harrison, in the war of 1812; and it was he that recruited the volunteers who fought the battle of Tippecanoe. His son* Captain Eli Hughes, the subject of this sketch, was born in Harrison county, Indiana, May 31, 1827, and there, residing on a farm with his father, grew to be a man. In 1848 he went to Louisiana, and worked at the cooper's trade till 1856. He then traveled through different states, until 1857, at which time he located in Ray county, where he has ever since made his home. Until the commencement of the civil war, Captain Hughes was engaged in farming. January 8, 1862, he enlisted as first lieutenant, in company B, 3d cavalry of Missouri state militia. In July, 1862, he was promoted to the captaincy, and served as such until March, 1865, when he was mustered out of service, with his regiment. He took part in the battles of Newtonia and Springfield, and served through the campaign of General Schofield, through Arkansas, in 1862. He was wounded by guerrillas in Arkansas, July 18, 1862, a ball passing through his left hand, and one entering his left side. From these wounds he has never completely recovered. He, notwithstanding his wounds, remained with his company until mustered out. He commanded in several engagements with guerrillas - was victorious over Captain Tuck Smith, capturing thirty-four of his horses, in Arkansas, in August, 1864. Captain Hughes returned home after the war, and engaged in milling, to which he has given his attention ever since. He was married April 16, 1868, to Miss Mary Crowley, of Ray county. Of this union two children are living: Mattie D., and James H. C; and two are deceased. His wife died February 1, 1873, and he was again married, February 28, 1874, to Mary J. Lile, of Ray county. They have one child living, Jessie E. Captain Hughes was appointed, by General Holland, to receive the surrender, under Lincoln's amnestv proclamation, of Confederate troops in northern Arkansas. He accepted the appointment, and discharged its duties in a creditable manner.

Felix G. Miller

Felix G. Miller was born November 10, 1822, in Ray county, Missouri. He is a son of Sebourn J. Miller, who was a Ray county pioneer, having immigrated to this county from Tennessee, in 1819. He was born near Nashville, Tennessee, in 1794, and died in Ray county in August, 1837. He was for many years a justice of the Ray county court, and held other offices of trust and profit, conferred by the suffrages of his fellow citizens. Our subject was reared on a farm. His education is limited to' that of the common schools, but he is a man of strong common sense, good judgment, and general information. He has always been a farmer, and now owns about 700 acres of excellent land, all of which is well improved and in a high state of cultivation. During Mr. Miller's boyhood, Ray county was almost a wilderness, very sparsely settled, without mills, markets were distant, and the country in many places unreclaimed. He has lived, however, to acquire a competency, to see his county advance to a position scarcely second to any in the state, and himself to partake of the comforts and advantages of modern improvements. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and also of the Masonic fraternity since the year 1849. He was married to Martha A. Woodward, of Ray county, but a native of Kentucky. Some years after the death of his first wife, April 30, 1850, he was again married to Sophronia Hill, of Ray county, who was born in Tennessee. They have three children t Ollie, wife of John C. Brown, of Richmond; Ava, wife of Peter Trimble, of Richmond, and Winfield, a merchant in Knoxville, Ray county.

Joseph S. Shoop

Joseph S. Shoop was born May 16, 1816, in Washington county, Maryland. When about fifteen years of age, he went to Waynesborough, Pennsylvania, to learn the trade of cabinet making. After remaining four years and a half thus employed, he spent a few months in Ohio, and then came to Ray county, arriving October 28, 1837, and engaged in the manufacture and sale of furniture until about the year 1863, when he purchased a farm one mile south of Richmond, to which he moved. In the fall of 1878 he again engaged in the furniture business, but continued to reside on his farm, till the spring of 1881, when he rented out his farm and returned to Richmond, and now devotes his whole attention to the furniture business. He is a member of the Christian Church, and is a pious, unobtrusive, honest man. He was married in September, 1842, to Miss Maria Bransford, of Barren county, Kentucky. His first wife died, and some years afterward he was married to Mary E. Baber. They have three children, Cora D., Thomas W. and Clarence.

Major John P. Norvell

John P. Norvell was born June 19, 1829, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When one year old his father moved with him to Pulaski, Middle Tennessee, where he lived till he was fourteen years of age, and with his father's family returned to Alabama. Four years later he went to Mississippi. While in Pulaski, Tennessee, on a visit, in 1846, he enlisted as a soldier in the war against Mexico, in Colonel Jonas Thomas' regiment, termed the "Giles County Troopers," Captain Milton A. Harris. Suffering at the time from a gun-shot wound, he only went as far as Arkansas, and was left, sick. He afterward returned to his home, and in February* 1846, he moved with his father and family to Pontotoc county, Mississippi. In 1852 he moved to Missouri and located at Walnut Grove, in Greene county, where he engaged in farming and dealing in live stock. June 22, 1861, he was mustered into the Confederate army, at West Plains, Missouri, as first lieutenant of company D, first regiment Missouri state guards, McBride's infantry, and served till the close of the war. He was promoted to quartermaster and paymaster of the northern sub-district of Arkansas. During his service in the army he took part in the following principal engagements: Wilson Creek, Oak Hill, Pea Ridge, Corinth, Brownsville, Little Rock, Camden, Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, Jenkins* Creek. After the engagement at the last mentioned place he was promoted and made chief of transportation for General Price in his last raid through Missouri. He was also at the storming of Pilot Knob, and with Shelby in his raid upon Booneville and Glasgow, and in the fights at Lexington, Independence, Coleman, Marais-des-Cygnes, and New- tonia. After the close of the war, Major Norvell went to Jackson, Mississippi, and near that place engaged in cotton raising, dealing in stock* etc. In December, 1873, he returned to Missouri, and located in Madison county, and in December, 1875, went to Kingsville, Johnson county, where he lived till February 1, 1881, at which time he moved to Ray county, where he still resides. He is engaged in farming, and in staging in connection with the Wabash railway. He is the owner of a good farm near Richmond, and is the lessee for five years of a fine blue grass farm, on which he is grazing stock. He, however, resides in Richmond on account of its educational advantages. Major Norvell has been a man of remarkable activity, energy, and pluck. He was a brave soldier, always in the front of battle, and never shirked a duty whatever peril its performance engendered. He was married November 12, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth J. Nisbitt, of Mississippi. She died July 17, 1849; and he was again married January 16, 1853, to Miss Louisa Lawrence, of Springfield, Missouri. They have five living children and three deceased. The living are as follows: Mary Frances, wife of W. C. McFall, of Weatherford, Texas; Laudon S., Rhoda A., Joe Shelby and Fidelia S. Major Norvell is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church.

Major John R. Hamacher

John R. Hamacher, a native of Scott county, Indiana, was born August 27, 1841. He was brought up to the occupation of a miller. In October, 1861, he enlisted as a private soldier in the Union army, joining company D, 40th infantry regiment, Indiana volunteers, and served gallantly until the close of the war. He was promoted to be second lieutenant, then captain, and afterward major. He was with his regiment in every important battle, and took part in the following: Battles of Cumberland, Yazoo River, Arkansas Post, Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Raymond, Champion Hills, and Black River Bridge, and was engaged through the entire siege of Vicksburg, and in the battle of Alexandria, Louisiana, after which they were granted a furlough to return home. Upon their returning, they re-enlisted, and were on provost duty at Lexington, Kentucky, Major Hamacher being, part of the time, provost marshal. He was, for a time, military conductor on the Louisville & Lexington railroad. He spent the remainder of his term of service in Kentucky and Tennessee, but was never called into active service. Major Hamacher was not seriously wounded in the war, unless we may except the loss of a finger; yet he was always at his post, and dared to lead where any dared to follow. He never faltered nor lagged in the rear; he loved the clatter of musketry, and the cannon's roar was music to his ears. He was a true soldier, and, as an officer, held the affection of his troops. Upon his return home from the war, he resumed his former occupation of milling. In 1866 he was placed in nomination by his party for county clerk of his county, but the entire republican ticket was defeated. In 1S69 he removed to Audrain county, Missouri, and engaged in farming; but, after one year, went to Carroll county, where he also farmed, continuing this vocation until in 1871, he moved to Carrollton, and purchased the woolen mills at that place, which he operated three years, at the end of which period he moved to Ray county and bought a mill, east of Richmond, which, in 1879, he moved to that city and rebuilt; and he now has, in Richmond, one of the finest and most thoroughly equipped steam flouring mills in this part of the state, where he does both local and custom work. John R. Hamacher was married August 2, 1864, to Miss Margaret A. Vandusen, of Scott county, Indiana. To this union were born three children, but one of them is deceased. Gertrude, born October 12, 1867, and Elmer, born March 23, 1871, are living, Mr. Hamacher is a member of the Masonic order.

Andrew J. Botts

Andrew J. Botts was born March 30, 1853, in Jefferson county, Iowa. His father was John Botts, a native of Adair county, Kentucky, born in 1820 and died in 1870 in Macon City, Missouri. His mother's maiden name was Susan Craig, she also, was born in Adair county, Kentucky, and died in Macon City, Missouri, in 1864. When the subject of this sketch was about four years old, his parents moved with him to Macon county, Missouri. In July, 1864, he went into the union army as drummer in company B, 42d Missouri volunteers. He remained with the army until the close of the war - doing garrison duty in Tennessee, and participating in various skirmishes. After the war, he returned home and entered into the tinning business, and in 1867 went to Chillicothe, Missouri, to learn the trade of tinner. He remained there three years, and in 1870 went to Millville, Ray county, and took charge of a hardware store. After two years, he moved to Richmond and opened the hardware store he now owns and conducts. He has a very large and complete stock of hardware goods; in fact it is a store that would do credit to a much larger city. He was married May 24, 1876, to Miss Lina E. Ballinger, of Ray county. They have one child, Walter, born April 30, 1877. Mr. Botts is an active, industrious, public spirited young gentleman, and is an honor to the town in which he lives.

William C. Patton

William C. Patton, son of Robert W. Patton, a native of Tennessee* and who settled in Ray county more than half a century ago, was born July 30, 1854, in Ray county, Missouri. After attending the common schools, he was entered a student at Richmond College, and in that institution received his education. He taught school a year after leaving college, and then entered the Ray County Savings Bank as clerk. In May, 1877, he accepted a situation in the drug store of Doctors Taylor & Smith, of Richmond, which he held until March, 1881, when he purchased the interest of Dr. Taylor in the drug store, and now, in partnership with Jas. W. Smith, M. D., under the firm name of Smith & Patton, is engaged as druggist and pharmaceutist. Their store is well appointed, and contains every article properly belonging in such an establishment. Mr. Patton has served three terms as recorder of the city of Richmond; further than this, he has not asked the suffrage of his fellow-citizens. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is correct in habits, truthful, high-toned and honorable. He is yet quite young and being strong and vigorous and endued with all the characteristics of true manhood, his future is bright with hope. '

William P. Hubbell

William P. Hubbell was born March 13, 1828, in Franklin county, Kentucky. He is a son of Captain William D. Hubbell, who was born at Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1797, and is still living. Captain W. D. Hubbell was a clerk on the first steamboat that passed up the Missouri river, in the spring of 1819. He is quite active, both mentally and physically for one of his age, and is still cheerful, interesting and instructive in conversation, and the fact that he must soon "pass on" causes him no gloomy forebodings. He lives at Columbia, Boone county, Missouri. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm. At the age of twelve years his father moved with him to Howard county, Missouri, but remained there but two years, till he removed to Clay county, Missouri. In the spring of 1850, William P. Hubbell went to California, crossing the plains with a train of ox wagons. On the way he and his associate travelers established a ferry across Green river, which they conducted about six weeks, and sold out at a net profit of about $5,000. He returned home in 1851, and engaged in merchandising, first at Liberty, Clay county, and afterward at what is now Missouri City. He continued in business there for eleven years. In July, 1864, he went to Carrollton, Illinois, where he was engaged till the fall of 1865, in the mercantile business. He then came to Richmond, Missouri, and here again resumed his favorite occupation of merchandising. Mr, Hubbell owns, lives on and superintends a beautiful, well improved and fertile farm just outside the limits of Richmond. He has some eight or ten acres in small fruits of various kinds, besides a large orchard of apples, peaches, pears and cherries of the finest varieties. He is also a member of the firm of Shotwell & Co., engaged in coal mining. They have a shaft near Richmond, and employ more than twenty men in taking out the coal. He has been engaged in the mercantile business ever since he came to Richmond, and is now in that occupation in connection with his eldest son, John W. They carry a full stock of dry goods and groceries. William P. HubbelL was married August 25, 1859, to Mary C. Quail, at Washington, Pennsylvania, of which place she is a native. They have the following children living: John W., Mary W., William M., Clarence H. and Charles G. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church, and their exemplary christian character is worthy of all emulation.

William Marshall

William Marshall was born December 12, 1829, in Glasgow, Scotland. In his childhood he accompanied his parents to Canada, and remained there till he became a man. He served an apprenticeship of six years, learning the trade of boot and shoemaker. In the spring of 1852 he came to Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, and for about one year plied his vocation in the employ of another; at the end of that time, he purchased an interest in the shop of his employer, and subsequently, by purchase, became sole proprietor, and has ever since conducted the business alone. William Marshall started in life a poor boy, without any advantages of wealth or personal assistance from others; but by patient toil, prudence and economy, has succeeded in gaining a competency. He has a handsome property, including a comfortable home in the city of Richmond. He has no enemies, and his friends are numbered among the best men in the county. He was married October 9, 1853, to Miss Eliza Kavanaugh, of Ray county, a native of Canada. They have four sons and three daughters living: Sarah E., William E., Robert, Mary C, John, James and Jessie.

John T. Banister

John T. Banister was born in Ray county, Missouri, on the 8th day of October, 1851. His father was Judge Nathaniel Banister, a native of Nicholas county, Kentucky. He removed to Missouri and settled in Ray county in the year 1843. Judge Banister was a man greatly esteemed by the people of Ray county. From 1864 to 1,865, he was judge of the probate court of Ray county. He was a prominent lawyer, a wise counselor and a sincere friend, devoted to his neighbors, his county and his country. He died May 18, 1877, in Richmond, Missouri. The subject of this sketch was educated at Richmond College, Richmond Missouri. Having completed his education, he engaged in teaching school, and continued in this pursuit for five years. In the fall of 1876, he was elected by the people, county surveyor of Ray county. His term of office expired January 1, 1881, but at the general election in November, 1880, he was re-elected to serve four years from the first of January, following. He was elected on the democratic ticket. John T. Banister is an unassuming gentleman, of ardent temperament, candid, obliging and kind. As an officer he is equal to the JefFersonian test, as is amply proven by the readiness of the people to make him his own successor. He resides with his mother, whose maiden name was Levisa J. Craig. He is a native of Kentucky, but was among the early settlers of Ray county, Missouri.

Oliver N. Hamacher

Oliver N. Hamacher was born April 17, 1856, in Scott county, Indiana. In 1870 he moved with his parents to Audrain county, Missouri, and in the fall of the same year moved to Carroll county, Missouri, and after remaining on the farm one year with his father, spent two years in school at Carrollton, Missouri, and at Lexington, Indiana. After which he came to Ray county, and entered into the milling business with his brother. Continuing with his brother four years, he went to Dewitt, Missouri, where he was in the milling business until the fall of 1877, when he returned to Ray county, and again joined his brother, John R. Hamacher, as partner with him in the ownership and control of their steam flouring mill, at Richmond. They have four run of burrs, do excellent work, and have an extensive trade. Mr. Hamacher is a member of the I. O. O. F. He was married, May 13, 1880, to Miss Minnie A. Prechard, an accomplished lady of Richmond, Missouri. In connection with their mill, the Hamacher brothers have a wool-carding machine, with a capacity of 100 pounds per day. Oliver N. Hamacher also owns a farm of 120 acres. He is a young man of great promise, and is highly respected for his upright, moral character.

John T. Patton

John T. Patton was born June 9, 1829, in Bedford county, Tennessee, and in the fall of 1830 moved with his parents to Ray county, where he has ever since resided. He is a son of James Patton, deceased, who was a native of Tennessee, born in the year 1801. He was among the first settlers of Ray county, and helped to establish the first state and county roads in and through the county. He continued to reside in this county until his death, which occurred in 1877. The subject of this sketch was a farmer all his life up to the year 1876, when he moved to Richmond, where he engaged in the lumber trade and in dealing in agricultural implements, in connection with his brother-in-law, W. R. Jackson, Esq. They have a large trade, doing an extensive business in each of their lines. John T. Patton was married in 1850, to Miss Margaret Emmerson, an intelligent, amiable lady, of Ray county. To this union were born three children, who are yet living: Laura A., wife of William Magill, of Ray county; Isabel, wife of Rufus Hill, of Ray countv, and Margaret J., at home. His wife died in 1S58, and Mr. Patton was again married, in November, 1859, to Miss Narcissa R. Jackson. They had one child, but it is now deceased. Mr. Patton and hjs wife are members of the Christian Church. He is a good citizen, an honest man, a polite and genial gentleman.

Charles Johnson was born in the year 1826, in Yates county, New York. He attended a medical school in New York, from which he received his diploma. The school was subsequently moved to Philadelphia. He began the practice of medicine in 1817, in New York state, but has practiced, also, in Indiana and Illinois. In 1856 he came to Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, and continued the practice of his profession until 1874, in which year, on account of failing health, he moved to Colorado, and continued the practice of medicine at Silver Spring ranche, near Colorado Springs. In the spring of 1S78 he went to Wilson county, Kansas, where he owned a farm, and practiced about one year, after which, in the spring of 1881, he returned to his former home, Richmond, Missouri, where he intends spending the remainder of his days. Doctor Johnson was married in September, 1856, to Mariah L. Cowdery, of Ray county. She was born in Ohio. He never belonged to an}- church society, religious or secret organization of any kind.

William D. Fisher

William D. Fisher, born in 1852, is a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania. He is a son of George W. Fisher, now living at Mt. Carroll, Illinois. His father, George W. Fisher, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1S26. The subject of this sketch, at the age of two years was taken by his parents to Carroll county, Illinois, where they settled in 1854. In 1868, he took, up the photograph business, and after learning the art of photography, moved, in 1870, to Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked at his calling three months; thence he moved to Liberty, Missouri; after remaining in that town three months, he came to Richmond, where, in connection with Dr. Kice, he continued his business of photography. In 1874, he went to Yankton, Dakota, where he remained two years, after which he returned to Richmond, where he now resides and is engaged at his vocation. Upon his return to Richmond, Mr. Fisher entered into the mercantile business, which he continued for three years, and then opened the photographic rooms he now occupies. Having spent a number of years in preparing himself for his business, Mr. Fisher is well qualified by skill and experience to prosecute his profession with success. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a worthy gentleman, manly, upright and reliable.

Murray F. McDonald was born January 3, 1836, in Culpepper county, Virginia. His parents were Eben McDonald, and Elizabeth (Settle) McDonald, both of whom were natives of Culpepper county, Virginia; Eben McDonald, born about 1806, and his wife, Elizabeth, in 1808. They were highly respected and honored citizens of the Old Dominion, and were noted for that genuine hospitality which ever characterizes the true Virginian. Eben McDonald died in 1852, and Elizabeth McDonald in 1863. Murray's grandfather, Latt McDonald, was also a Virginian. He served creditably in the war of 1812. He had five brothers who emigrated westward from Virginia at an early day. Murray F. McDonald, the subject of this sketch, was reared on a farm, receiving his education at a high school in Jefferson, Virginia. When he came to be a man, he entered the mercantile business as clerk and salesman. In 1854, he moved to Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, where he was again employed for some years as salesman in a dry goods store. In 1859, he embarked in his favorite pursuit, that of merchandizing, on his own account. He retired, however, in 1861, on account of the civil war, then commencing. In 1869, he again resumed the mercantile business, in Richmond, Missouri, at the store room he now owns and occupies, on the north side of the court house square. He has a very large, costly and elegant stock of goods, and is liberally patronized. Murray F. McDonald is one of the leading business men of Richmond; he is of a modest, retiring disposition, attends closely to his calling, but he is deeply interested in the welfare of his town and county, and is a man of warm impulses, morally upright, honest and reliable. He has been a member of the city council several terms, and has held other positions of trust since becoming a resident of the city of Richmond. He was married December 28, 1858, to Miss Maggie Davis, a daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Davis, of Richmond, Missouri. They have four children living, viz: James A., born December 3, 1859; Murray, born January 7, 1861; Beverly, born November 13, 1862, and Daisy, born August 8, 1866. Mr. McDonald is a member of Richmond Lodge A. F. and A. M.

Oliver T. Dickenson

Oliver T. Dickenson was born in 1839, in Albemarle county, Virginia. In 1844, when he was five years of age, his parents moved with him to Boone county, Missouri. At the age of eighteen he went to learn the trade of carriage-maker. He was several years in learning his trade, and in 1859 opened a carriage and buggy manufactory in Richmond, Missouri, where he made carriages and buggies of a very superior kind, employing constantly from six to eight workmen. He continued in a prosperous business till the cyclone of June 1, 1878, swept over Richmond, totally demolishing his shop, among others, and destroying over $4,000 worth of finished work, ready for delivery. He was left without tools and entirely without means to carry on his business, which he settled up as best he could, and in 1880 built the livery stable where he is now engaged in the livery business. He has a good trade, and is a plain, unpretending, honest man, who attends closely to his business, harms no man, pays his taxes, and discharges the duties of a citizen cheerfully, punctually, and honorably. He is a member of the order of Knights of Honor and of the Knights of Pythias. Oliver T. Dickenson was married in 1863 to Susan J . Asbury, of Ray county, but a native of Kentucky. They have two children living: William N., born August 18, 1864, and Minnie L., born October 8, 1873, and two deceased. He is a son of Nimrod W. Dickenson, a native of Virginia, who was drowned in the Missouri river in 1S44. His mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Robinson. She also was a native of Virginia; was born in 1815, and died about the year 1872.

William S. Conrow

William S. Conrow, son of the late Honorable Aaron F. Conrow, was born in Ray county, Missouri, May 4, 1855. He was educated at Richmond College. After leaving school he adopted the law as a profession, and entered upon its study under the instruction of Captain James L. Farris, attorney at law, Richmond, Missouri. In 1877, he was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of his profession in partnership with Captain Farris. In April, 1878, he was elected city attorney of Richmond, and re-elected in 1879, and again in 1880. April, 1881, he was elected city recorder, an office he now holds. These positions of trust, bestowed by his fellow-townsmen, evince the confidence they have in young Conrow. He is a talented young man, and if he continues prudent, persevering, and pains-taking, will succeed in life.

John F. Morton

John F. Morton was born in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, March 6, 1860. When he was about two years of age, his parents moved to Portsmouth, Ohio; in the high schools of which city, young Morton received his education. In the spring of 1879, he began the study of law, having for his preceptor, General A. W. Doniphan, of Richmond, Missouri, to which place young Morton had moved the year previous. In the spring of 1881, he was admitted to the bar, and the same spring was elected city attorney of Richmond, the duties of which position he is discharging very acceptably. He is a son of John F. Morton, deceased, a native of Kentucky. His father died in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1866. His mother is now the wife of Maurice C. Jacobs, M. D., of Richmond, Missouri. John F. Morton is an intelligent young man, studious, temperate and energetic, and if he continues as such, as he doubtless will, a bright future awaits him.

Daniel T. Duval

Daniel T. Duval is a native of Ray county. He was born in the year 1850, and raised on a farm, and followed that occupation continuously till the spring of 1881, when, after selling his farm, he purchased the saddle and harness stock of J. W. Harrison, of Richmond, and engaged in that trade. He has a commodious store-room, and a full line of everything pertaining to a well appointed saddle and harness shop, and is rapidly building up a large and lucrative business. Mr. Duval is a son of Thomas A. Duval, who came from Virginia, where he was born, to Ray county, Missouri, at an early day. He died in 1864. Daniel T. Duval is a promising young man, active, energetic and attentive to business.

Joseph H. Devlin

Joseph H. Devlin was born in Chariton county, Missouri, in the year 1844. His father was Reverend Joseph T. Devlin, a minister of the M. E. Church South. He was a native of Delaware, born in June, 1811, and died in Ray county, Missouri, in October, 1878. He was a sincere, earnest Christian, a faithful minister, a steadfast friend, and in every department of life, one of the best and purest of men. Joseph H. Devlin, the subject ol this sketch, was educated at the Richmond College. He has always lived in Missouri, but as his father was a Methodist minister, he necessarily moved from place to place. After leaving school he went to Carrollton, Missouri, where, for about twelve years, he was engaged in selling goods. In October, 1880, he moved, with his family, to Sherman, Texas, but after spending the winter in that place, returned to Missouri, and located in Richmond, Ray county, and took charge of the lumber yard of McDonald & Company, which position he still holds. He was united in marriage, May 16, 1872, with Miss Maggie Ritenour, of Kansas City. They have had four children, only one of whom, Mamie, born May 1, 1879, is living. Mr. Devlin is a member of the M. E. Church South. His wife also, is a member of that church. He is also a member of the A. O. U. W. A worthy citizen, he receives the respect of all who know him.

Matthew J. Creel

Matthew J. Creel was born, August 18, 1833, in Culpepper county, Virginia. When about sixteen years of age, he went to learn the carpenter's trade, and served an apprenticeship of four years. In 1855 he emigrated to Van Buren county, Iowa, and two years later came to Ray county, Missouri. He was exetensively engaged in farming till the outbreaking of the civil war. After the close of the war, he embarked in the mercantile business, and followed it for about ten years. Abandoning mercantile life, he resumed his trade, and has since worked at it in the city of Richmond, Missouri, continuously. He has been a member of the M. E. Church South for many years, all the time one of the most active and untiring workers in behalf of his church, and of religion generally. He takes a warm interest in the Sunday-school work; leads in the Sunday-school singing, and is also leader of the church choir. His wife is also a member of the M. E. Church South, and is a pious, unassuming Christian woman. He was married, May 10, A. D. 1859, to Miss Mary E. Branstetter, of Richmond, Missouri. They have eight children: Sallie P., Myrtie E., Henry L., Sterling Price, James P., Edward B., Mattie H., and John E.

John R. Green

John R. Green was born November 4, 1858, in Caldwell county, Missouri. He is the son of John W. Green, Esq., a native of Kentucky, born in 1836, and now a respected citizen of Richmond, Missouri. In 1866 our subject moved with his father's family to Richmond, Ray county, where he has ever since resided. He was, like many other excellent and scholarly young men of Ray county, educated at Richmond College. After leaving school, he was employed for about four years as clerk in a drug store at Richmond. January 1, 1879, he accepted the appointment as deputy circuit clerk under the late John W. Spurlock, and in that capacity continued to act until the spring of 1881, when he was appointed by Governor Crittenden, clerk of Ray circuit court, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of John W. Spurlock, Esq. During his service as deputy clerk, Mr. Green had control of the office a great deal of the time, owing to the protracted illness of Mr. Spurlock, and when appointed to the office was well qualified for the position. As an officer he is courteous, attentive, and in every way efficient. As a private citizen, he is generous, obliging, and honorable. A brilliant future is before him.

Charles Sevier

Charles Sevier, son of Major Robert Sevier, was born at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, September 30, 1832. In 1840, he, with his father's family, located at Richmond, Ray county, Missouri. He was educated at the Richmond College, and at the Masonic Institute, Lexington, Missouri. In 1853 he entered the circuit clerk and recorder's office, (ex-officio) as assistant to his father, then the incumbent of those offices. He was shortly afterward appoint his father s deputy, and continued as such until 1865. He then went to farming on his farm near Richmond. Mr. Sevier owns a fine tract of land of about two thousand acres, most of which is in the vicinity of Richmond. During the past two years much of his time has been engrossed in settling the estate of his father; he has, however, all the time superintended his large tracts of farming land, most of which are in grass. Charles Sevier was married in 1856, to Susan L. Murrell, of Lafayette county, Missouri. To this union were born the following children, who are living: Samuel M., born August 10, 1859; (who has recently graduated at Kemper's Family School, Booneville, Missouri,) and Isabel, born January 5, 1862. His wife, an amiable lady, died June 4, 1866. Mr. Sevier was again married January 28, 1869, to Emma A. Dines, of Ray county. She is an accomplished, estimable lady. They have four children: Robert, born December 1, 1869; George F., born July 28, 1872; Mary R., born July 27, 1876, and Ann H., born April 24, 1878. Mr. Sevier is a member of the Presbyterian Church, a good citizen, and an honest man.

Louis Zur Megede

Louis zur Megede was born in Soest, Prussia, in the year 1821. In his boyhood he served a full apprenticeship, learning the jeweler's trade. In 1841, when he was twenty years of age, he immigrated to the United States, and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. After working for a time as journeyman jeweler, he opened a shop on his own account in St. Louis, which he conducted about two years, and then moved with his stock of jewelry to Lexington, Lafayette county, Missouri. This was in the year 1849. He remained in Lexington, until the year 1877, when he moved to Richmond, Ray county, where he has ever since resided, and is a respected, useful citizen. In 1858, however, he had established a branch store in Richmond, which he left in charge of a Mr. Ludniz. This stock, at the commencement of the civil war, he moved back to Lexington; and again in 1865, reopened his branch store in. Richmond, which, under his direc- tion, was conducted by a Mr. Engler, until Mr. zur Megede moved with his family to Richmond to make the place his permanent home. He is a successful business man, having in his store a large and complete stock, not only of watches, clocks and jewelry, but of musical instruments, wall paper, stationery and books. He has a comfortable home in Richmond having just finished a handsome new residence. He was married in Prussia, February 24, 1861, to Isabella Dallinger. They have had seven children, of whom- two are deceased. The living are: Louis, born March 13, 1862; he is now engaged with his father in the store; Emelie, born September 20, 1865; Bella, born July 12, 1867; Albert, born May 5, 1869, and Frederick Amo, born July 2, 1879. The older members of Mr. zur Megede's family belong to the Presbyterian Church.' He is the youngest son of William zur Megede, who was burgomaster of the city of Soest.

Captain John P. Quesenberry

John P. Quesenberr}' is a native of Barren county, Kentucky, where he was educated, and grew from infancy to manhood. In 1840, he moved to Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, and has ever since resided in that town. He was first employed as salesman in the dry goods store of J. S. Hughes & Co., and afterward with James S. Lightner. He was attentive, industrious and efficient in these positions, and of course, filled them with credit to himself, and to the profit and satisfaction of his employers. By the year 1848, he had saved out of his earnings sufficient means to go into business on his own account, and in that year, in co-partnership with Robert McGee, Esq., opened a general store, under the firm name of J. P. Quesenberry & Co.; and, although Mr. McGee withdrew from the firm in a few years, the firm name has never been changed, and still remains, J. P. Quesenberry & Co., though the subject of this sketch in the sole proprietor. Mr. Quesenberry has been long and actively engaged in business in Richmond; he has been a leading merchant of the town for almost a half century, and during all that time has earnestly labored to promote the interests of his town and county. He lives not alone for his own aggrandizement, but to contribute to the well-being of those among whom he lives. He has been longer engaged as a merchant in Richmond, than any other man. In June, 1861, he joined the Confederate army, and was one of the first to enter that service from Ray county. He enlisted as a private soldier, but in April, 1862, was made quartermaster of his regiment, and served as such until July of the same year, when he was elected first lieutenant of his company, and in November following, the captain having fallen in battle, Lieutenant Quesenberry was elected to the captaincy, and held that rank until May, 1865, when he resigned on account of ill health, but remained with his command until the close of the war. He was present at, and participated in the following battles:

Carthage, Springfield, Lexington, (Missouri), Oak Hill, Helena, Prairie Grove, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, (Louisana), and Jenkins' Ferry, besides numerous engagements of minor importance. In the army, as well as in civil life, Captain Quesenberry was always punctual - never " behind time." In camp he was genial, cheerful and full of life; in battle, brave, unfaltering, and at the fore-front. After the war, when peace was restored, he returned to his home, sorrowful, but not despondent, and resumed his former vocation, that of merchandising, in which he is now engaged. Captain Quesenberry takes a deep interest in all that looks to the improvement of his count}', educational, religious or otherwise. He has long been united with the M. E. Church South, at Richmond, and is a leading member of the Masonic fraternity, having joined that order in 1845. There are many " good men and true," in Ray county; Captain Quesenberry is one of them, and none are more highly esteemed and respected.

Henry C. Burgess

Henry C. Burgess was born in Independence, Jackson county, Missouri, in 1845. In 1859, he, with his parents moved to Johnson county, Missouri, where they remained until in 1863, when they removed to Richmond, Ray county. Mr. Burgess, in his youth, learned the wagon maker's trade, working at the business with his father, until the latter's death in 1878, when he and his brother, Thomas J. Burgess, took charge of the shop and business, and have since, as before, had an extensive trade. He, in partnership with his brother, does a general blacksmithing and wagon making business. They also repair wagons, buggies and farm implements, as well as manufacture both, wagons and buggies. They are superior workmen, and their work is equal in every particular to that made in eastern shops. They employ generally, from five to eight workmen. The subject of this sketch is a son of Thomas N., who was born in Madison county, Kentucky, about the year 1812, and died in Richmond, Missouri, in 1878. His mother's maiden name was Couchman : she, also, was a native Of Kentucky, and was born in 1815; died in 1874. The shop and residence of his brother, T. M. Burgess, were destroyed by the cyclone of June 1, 1878. Two of the family died from injuries received, and five others were seriously wounded. The house, shop and contents were utterly destroyed. The brothers, however, nothing daunted, began anew after the disaster, and have succeeded admirably. Henry C. Burgess is a member of the Christian Church, and also of the Knights of Honor. He is an industrious, energetic, and worthy gentleman, and fully merits the success he has achieved, as well as the esteem in which he is held by his fellow-townsmen.

Thomas J. Burgess

The subject of this sketch is a brother of Henry C. Burgess. He was born in 1860, in Jackson county, Missouri. His parents moved to Richmond, Ray county, in the fall of 1863, and here Mr. Burgess has ever since resided. He was educated at Richmond College. When about thirteen years of age he commenced to learn blacksmithing, working under different persons, till the death of his father, when he and his brother succeeded to the business, which is fully described in connection with the biographical sketch of Henry C. Burgess. Mr. Burgess is yet quite young, but he is a skilled artisan, and being intelligent, prudent and persevering, his future is full of promise.

Isaac L. Burgess

Isaac L. Burgess was born in 1844 in Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. He is a brother of H. C, and T. J. Burgess. In 1855, he moved with his parents to Johnson county, Missouri. He learned the trade of wagon-maker under his father, who was a skilled workman. In 1861, he enlisted in company G, 1st Missouri cavalry, Colonel Gordon's regiment of General Joe O. Shelby's brigade, Confederate army, and served until the fall of 1864. He fought bravely and well, taking part in the following engagements: Carthage, Springfield, Prairie Grove, Helena, Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee. After returning home from the army, he went to the Rocky Mountains and spent one year there, and again returned to Ray county, and engaged in farming, which he continued for two years; after which he resumed his trade in Richmond, Missouri, and has followed it ever since. He is an excellent workman and has a large trade; the people liberally patronizing him because of his industry, energy and superior workmanship. Mr. Burgess is a member of the order of Knights of Honor. He is a worthy gentleman, prompt to meet every engagement reliable, honest, and honorable. January 10, 1869, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Walker, an intelligent, amiable lady, of Ray county, Missouri. They have two children, Charles F., born February 11, 1871, and Lulu, born February 17, 1874.

Henry P. Grow

Henry P. Grow was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1848, and lived in that city until 1860, when he, with his parents, moved to Ohio. In 1864 he enlisted in company C, 23d Ohio Union volunteers, and remained in the army till the close of the war. His regiment, which he was always with, save when disabled by a wound, took part in the battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 1!>, 1864. In this engagement Mr. Grow was severely wounded in the left leg, and in the morning was captured, but recaptured in the evening. He was sent to the hospital at Baltimore, where he was confined to his room for three months, after which he was assigned to detail duty, being unable for active field service. After the close of the war he returned home and learned to be a carpenter under his father. In 1867 he moved to Ashland, Kentucky, and in the fall of 1870, came to Richmond, where he has ever since remained, with the exception of two years, from 1872 to 1874, spent in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Grow and his partner, Mr. Abbott, are among the leading carpenters and builders in Richmond; they are fine workmen, always reliable, prompt, and industrious. They erected many of the beautiful dwellings for which the city of Richmond is so remarkable. Mr. Grow has just completed a very handsome and substantial residence for himself. He is a member of the M. E. Church South; of the I. O. O. F.; of the Knights of Honor, and of the Knights of Pythias. He was married December 12, 1871, to Miss Paulina Jackson, of Ray county. To this union were born the following children: Annie M., Livie C. and Myrtle. His wife, who was a daughter of Caleb Jackson, of Ray county, died February 22, 1878.

Rudolph Palmer

Rudolph Palmer is a Virginian, born in Loudon county, of the " Old Dominion," in the year 1821. His father was a farmer, and Rudolph followed that occupation in his native state till 1858, when he moved to Carroll county, Missouri, and again engaged in farming, and continued it for seven years in that county. In 1865, he moved to Ray county, and followed his occupation of farming till the spring of 1880; at which time he took charge of the boarding house in Richmond, of which he is now proprietor. Mr. Palmer was married in 1848, to Susan Whaley, of Virginia. The offspring of this union was thirteen children, ten of whom are living: Hugh W., Franklin P., Nancy C, Mary V., Alice A., Louella, Minnie, John, Amy and Clyde.

Geo. W. Buchanan was born August 16, 1828, in Harrodsburg, Mercer county, Kentucky. His parents died, leaving him an orphan at the age of two years. His father was William Buchanan, an honored citizen of Kentucky. Doctor Buchanan is of Scotch descent, his ancestors having immigrated to the state of Virginia from Scotland at an early day. His grandfather, George Buchanan, was one of the early settlers in Kentucky, and his family was among those who located, laid out, and built the town of McAfee Station, Kentucky. He came to Missouri with his maternal grandfather, James Tilford McCoun, in or about the year 1834, locating on land east of and adjacent to the city of Richmond, Ray county.

Here our subject spent his boyhood days and grew to man's estate. He attended school part of the time; the rest worked on the farm, and taught school, thereby earning a support and the means to complete his education, the foundation of which he had already laid by careful study and diligent application. After spending two years at the Masonic College, Lexington, Missouri, he, in 1850, returned to Kentucky, and was entered a student at Center College, Danville, and graduated from that institution in 1852. He then resolved to adopt the medical profession, and to that end attended a course of medical lectures at Cincinnati, Ohio. He subsequently became a student at the celebrated Jefferson Medical College* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1855 graduated therefrom with honor. He returned to Richmond, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession, which, with marked success, he has ever since continued, and» with the exception of about seven years, at Richmond. During a part of the years 1861 and 1862, Doctor Buchanan was surgeon-in-chief of the hospitals at Lexington, under General Sterling Price, after which he resumed his practice at Richmond. George W. Buchanan was married in 1855 to Miss Emily Terry, of Richmond, Missouri, but a native of Danville, Virginia. He spent the years from 1864 to 1870 in Colorado, with his wife and family, having gone for the benefit of the former's health. While in Colorado, he practiced his profession. In 1869, Mrs. Buchanan died, at Georgetown, Colorado. By his marriage with Miss Terry, Doctor Buchanan has one son: William Terry, born in 1861. He was again married in 1872, to Henrietta R. Watkins, of Ray county. They have three children: George Watkins, Charles Allen, and James McAfee. Doctor Buchanan has been longer in practice at Richmond than any other physician (not retired) in the place. He has always had an extensive, lucrative practice, in which he has been remarkably successful.

Benjamin F. Duncan

Professor Benjamin F. Duncan was born in Shelby count)', Kentucky, April 29, 1842. When Benjamin was about nine years of age, his father moved to Daviess county, Missouri, and here he assisted his father in the cultivation and management of the latter's farm. In 1857, while working at a threshing machine, which was in rapid motion, he met with an unfortunate accident, which deprived him of his right arm. Two years later he began his college course at William Jewell College, Liberty, Clay county, Missouri, under the renowned William Thompson - the " Spurgeon of the West;" and in the spring of 1862, he entered the sophomore class of Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky, and graduated with honor, in 1865. After graduating, he spent the summer visiting with his cousin, Doctor J. F. Cook - now president of Lagrange (Mis- souri), College - and through his influence received the position of president of the Campbellsburgh High School, which he held two years. He then determined to abandon the teacher's profession; and the law presenting an inviting field for his future labors, he determined to prepare himself for the bar. His friends, however, prevailed upon him to accept the presidency of Concord College, a Baptist institution, located at New Liberty, Owen county, Kentucky. After three years he resigned his position as president of this school, and purchased the Eminence Male and Female Seminary, located at Eminence, Kentucky. Here he remained until in 1876, when he sold that institution, and, returning to Missouri, was elected president of Grand River College, at Edinburg, Missouri; he, however, declined the position to accept that of principal of the Richmond, Ray county, public schools, which position he now holds. His report to the board of directors for the year ending the first Tuesday in April, 1881, will be found elsewhere in this volume. Professor Duncan is eminently well qualified for the profession of teacher; he has made it his life-work, and he is yet in the prime of active manhood, with years of usefulness, and a brilliant future before him. Benjamin F. Duncan was married November 14, 1867, to Miss Sarah E. Buchanan, a native of Hopkinsville, Christian county, Kentucky. She is an educated lady, of amiable disposition. Her father was James Buchanan, who, for about twenty years, was professor of mathematics in Center College, Danville, Kentucky. They have four children: James B., Anna Blanche, John M., and Eva.

William S. Tompkins

William S. Tompkins is a native of Missouri. He was born in Randolph county, February 25, 1839. He was educated in the common schools, and in Grand River College, Missouri. In the spring of 1861, he was mustered into the Confederate service, as a volunteer. He belonged to company F, Rives' regiment, fourth division, Missouri state guards. He bore a gallant part in the battles of Wilson Creek, Dry wood and Lexington. In the last mentioned engagement, he was seriously wounded, being shot through the left shoulder. From this wound he has never so far recovered as to be able to perform manual labor. As he was disabled, Mr. Tompkins returned home, and remained till 1864, when he rejoined the army, and staid with it till the termination of the war, when he engaged in farming and teaching school jointly. In 1875, he was elected county school commissioner of Ray county, for a term of two years; at the end of which time he abandoned farming, and accepted the appointment as deputy county clerk, and held the position till January 1, 1879, when he was elected as teacher of the intermediate department of Richmond Graded Schools, a position he now holds. William S. Tomp- kins was married in 1863, to Miss Nancy G. Terrill, of Randolph county, Missouri. Thev have five children living, and two sons deceased. The living are as follows: Martha A., Samuel, William G., Clara B., and

Adam K. Reyburn

Adam K. Reyburn was born in Fayette county, Kentuckv, August 6, 1816. When Adam was about a year old, his parents moved to Missouri and settled in Boone county, where he lived till the age of nineteen. In 1837, he went to Indiana and engaged in contracting and building, making his home at Indianapolis. Among the buildings erected by him in that city, are the state and branch bank buildings. In 1840, he returned to Missouri, and located in Lexington, where he merchandized two years. He then came to Richmond and bought a carding factory, which he continued to operate until 1847, when he sold out and returned to Lexington, to resume the mercantile business, but this time in partnership with his brother, Lewis C. Reyburn. He soon sold out, however, and after spending one year in farming, near Pleasant Hill, in Cass county, returned again to Lexington, and built a carding machine, which he conducted till in 1852, in which year he came back to Richmond and repurchased the carding mill he had sold five years before. In 1858, he again sold his carding mill, and moved to his farm three miles west of Richmond. In 1861, he returned to Richmond, and was not actively engaged in business during the war. In 1865, he was appointed sheriff of Ray county, and served two years. In the fall of 1866, he was elected by the people to the same office, and held it four years. Since that time he has been engaged in farming. He owns 800 acres of valuable farming land, well improved and convenient to market, all of which he personally superintends. He resides in town, however, where he owns a fine property. He is a director and one of the stockholders in the Ray County Savings Bank. He and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He was married in the fall of 1843, to Permelia A. Griffin, of Lexington, Missouri. She is a native of Kentucky, and the daughter of Berry G. Griffin, who was born April 12, 1823, in Mason county, Kentucky. He was murdered in Richmond in 1867, by the bandits, who, at the same time, robbed the bank at Richmond. Mr. Reyburn and wife have six children, four boys and two girls, to-wit: Charles H., of Colorado, employed with Barlow, Saunderson & Co., mail contractors; James T., a farmer, of Ray county; Permelia J., wife of John W. Francis, formerly sheriff of Ray county, but now of St. Louis; Lucy A., and George H.

William T. Singleton

William T. Singleton was born in Montgomery county, Missouri, in 1852. He is a son of John S. Singleton, of Rolla, Phelps county, Missouri. He is a native of Virginia. His mother's maiden name was Stewart. She is a native of Kentucky. His parents are still living. When about sixteen years of age, the subject of this sketch entered the employ of the Wabash Railroad Company, as telegraph operator at Wentzville, having learned telegraphy at High Hill, Missouri. He was operator at different points on this road till in 1874, when he was appointed agent at Lexington, Missouri. He remained at Lexington three years, and was transferred to De Witt, Carroll county, Missouri. He was also in De Witt three years, and in the fall of 1880, came to Richmond, Ray county, where he is at present engaged with the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company. He has been constantly in the employ of this company for more than thirteen years. This long period of uninterrupted service is ample testimony of his integrity, efficiency and gentlemanly deportment. Wm. T. Singleton was married June 4, 1879, to Miss Evaline W. Squires, an accomplished lady of Carroll county, Missouri. They have one child, Bessie E., born March 9, 1881. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church South. He is also a Mason.

Robertson L. Jacobs

R. L. Jacobs was born November 25, 1852, in Ray county, Missouri. He was educated at Richmond College. After leaving school, he went, in 1874, to Lacygne, Kansas, and engaged in the hardware business until 1876, when he sold out and traveled through Texas for a few months, after which he located at Empire City, Kansas, dealing in hardware for a few months; after which he returned to Lacygne, and again engaged in the hardware business until January, 1878, when he sold out and returned to Ray county, and farmed for two years. In June, 1880, he purchased a harness shop, in Richmond, and has since been engaged in the business. He has a large trade and carries a full line of harness, saddles, etc. He is an enterprising, successful business man, and a gentleman of excellent moral character. He is a member of the Christian Church.

Charles A. Mosby was born in Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, February 29, 1855. He received his literary training at Richmond College, Richmond, Missouri. In 1875, he began the study of medicine under the instruction of his father, Dr. W. W. Mosby- In 187S he graduated from the Missouri Medical College, St. Louis, Missouri. Having graduated, he returned to Richmond and entered at once upon the practice of his profession, associated with his father. While attending medical college in St. Louis, he still retained an interest in the drug store of Dr. W. W. Mosby & Son, at Richmond. He is yet a partner of his father in this store, which they have conducted for a number of years. Thev have recently completed a large brick building, in which is their drug store - one of the best appointed and most extensive in this part of the state. Mr. Mosby is a young man, highly esteemed for his integrity, good nature and exemplary moral character. He is energetic, affable and obliging, and the confidence and esteem with which he is regarded are not unworthily bestowed.

Louis Baum

Louis Baum was born in Bosen, Prussia, in the year 1843. When about fifteen years of age, he came to the United States, and located in Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, where he engaged in selling goods till the breaking out of the civil war. He then began dealing in horses and mules, buying and selling them to the government, which he continued till the close of the war. He then bought and sold horses and mules on his own account, shipping to St. Louis and New Orleans. In 1879, he formed a co-partnership with George I. Wasson, Esq. They erected a large stable, and have since done a very extensive business, buying, during the past eighteen months over $120,000 worth of mules and horses. Mr. Baum is a man of great energy and strict integrity. He is a son of Mishel Baum, a native of Germany, who came to America about the year 1879, and died in St. Louis, Missouri, May 31, 1881, at the age of eighty-four. He had seven children, six of whom were at his death-bed. The youngest daughter, living in New York, was not present. Mr. Baum is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is also a member of two secret societies, known as Free Sons of Israel and Bena Brith, both of them in St. Louis. Mr. Baum's success has been achieved by energy, industry and perseverance, and his life is an example by which every young man may profit.

John W. Francis

John W. Francis was born in Madison county, Ohio, on the 14th day of May, 1842. His father, Alexander B. Francis, was born in the same county and state, on the 28th day of January, 1817. His mother's name, before marriage, was Virginia A. Elsey. She was born in Virginia on the 9th of January, 1823, and was the eldest of a family of seven children. His parents were married on the 1st of August, 1841, and three years afterward in the spring of 1844, the year of the great overflow of the Missouri river, emigrated to the state of Missouri. They traveled mainly by steamboat in seeking their new home in the west. They landed first at Booneville, Missouri, but remained there only a short time, selecting, after a few weeks, Sugar Tree township, Carroll county, for their new home. His occupation here was farming, until the death of his mother, in April, 1854, when he lived for a short time in the family of Wilson Malone, and with his aunt Betsey Francis. His father marrying Margaret Colley, in 1855, he returned home and lived with his father until the death of his father's second wife. His father then sent him to live with John F. Dale, four miles northwest of Richmond, where he remained until his father married the third time, July 14, 1857, uniting his fortunes this time with Mary A. Proffitt. His father, about this time, purchased a small farm, seven miles north of Richmond, and lived on it until his death, which took place July 11, 1862. Before his father's death, a few months, he enlisted in the United States service, volunteering as a private in company K. 23d Missouri volunteers, for the term of three years from the 22d day of December, 1861. This regiment was then stationed at Grand River Bridge, one mile east of Utica, and shortly afterward went into winter quarters at Chillicothe, Missouri. On or about the 1st of March, 1862, his regiment was ordered to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, and after some thorough drilling, it was ordered to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. It left St. Louis by steamboat, on the first day of April, 1862, and succeeded in reaching its point of destination, Saturday, April 5, 1862, in time to participate in the great battle of Pittsburg Landing, on the 6th and 7th of April, 1862. His regiment was in General B. M. Prentiss' brigade, in the battle, and suffered terribly, having been greatly exposed in the hottest part of the engagement. His company (company K) was fearfully depleted. Out of eighty men in this company that went into action, only fifteen answered at roll call at the close of the battle, the remainder being killed, wounded or taken prisoners. In fact, the entire regiment had met with such a heavy loss, that it was sent ba^k to Alton Illinois, to recruit. The brave colonel of the regiment, Colonel Jacob T. Tindall, was killed on the first day of the battle, April 6, 1862. Mr. Francis received a wound in this battle, and was sent back to hospital in St. Louis, to receive surgical treatment. After recovering from his wound he rejoined his regiment, which had partly filled up its thinned ranks with new recruits, and in 1863 took up its line of march to McMinnville, Tennessee; thence to the front at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and took part in all the battles and skirmishes from there to Atlanta, Georgia. The prominent battles in which he was, were Mission Ridge, Resaca, Georgia; Ringgold, Georgia; Allatoona, Georgia; Kenesaw Mountains, Georgia; and in the siege of Atlanta. When his regiment arrived at Atlanta, it was assigned to the first brigade, third division, fourteenth army corps, army of the Cumberland. After the capture of Atlanta, he was in the memorable march after the Confederate General Hood and his armv, when he went back to Franklin, Tennessee. On the Coosa river, near Rome, Georgia, General Sherman divided his army, and sent the fourth and twentieth corps to oppose General Hood and the remainder of the army concentrated at Kingston, Georgia, and severed communication with the world. He was one of the grand army that marched with Sherman to the sea, and was one of the boys in blue, in that celebrated march, and took part in all the movements of the victorious columns that General Grant characterized as prompt, skillful and brilliant. He was discharged in 1865, at Hilton Head, South Carolina, and took passage on the ocean steamer Fulton, for New York City, thence by railroad to Ray county, Missouri. On reaching home he found his father and brother were both dead, and the other members of the family living at different places. He turned his attention to farming for a short time after he came home. In the spring of 1865, a regiment of Missouri militia was organized in Ray county, and he was elected captain of one of the companies, (company D), and duly commissioned by Thomas C. Fletcher, governor of Missouri, on the 5th day of May, 1865. In October, 1865, he went to Lawrence, Kansas, and hired to a freighting firm to drive a team of oxen across the plains to Fort Union, New Mexico, and was caught in a severe storm on the Cimarron, in New Mexico, and lost over three hundred head of oxen by freezing and starving to death. In the spring of the year following, he went on to Fort Union and Las Vegas, delivered over freight, and returned to Ray county in the summer of 1866. After the Richmond bank robbery, May 23, 1867, when John Shaw, mayor of Richmond, F. S. Griffin, deputy sheriff, and Benjamin G. Griffin, his father, were killed by the bank robbers, he was appointed deputy sheriff by Mr. A. K. Reyburn, who was then sheriff of Ray county. He acted as his deputy until his term of office expired. In November, 1868, he was elected sheriff and collector of Ray county, on the Republican ticket.