Prairie Township

Prairie Township

Prairie township is one of the extreme western townships of the county and embraces thirty full and six fractional sections, the latter bordering Ray county. It is nearly exclusively rolling prairie and as rich and fertile as any portion of the county. Turkey creek meanders through the eastern portion of the township and a small tributary of the Wakanda runs through the southwest corner.

It is claimed for prairie that it is the finest corn ground in the county, and from evidence in our possession we are inclined to the opinion that the claim is well founded.

This portion of the county was not settled at a very early day, and from all the information that can be relied on, Jacob GofT was one of the

When Jacob Falke came in 1848 and located on section two, Johnson Nelson, Strange Johnson, Enoch Hilderbrand and Irvin Haynes were already here. They located sometime between the years 1845 and 1848, but the exact date is unknown.

The township has been almost exclusively settled since 1865, a large number of whom are thrifty Germans, who are excellent farmers, and if not rich have built up good substantial and comfortable homes.

One drawback in early times to the settlement of prairie was the want of timber for fencing, and the distance to market for lumber for building purposes. When this objection was removed by the railroad passing through the county. Prairie filled up rapidly and kept pace with other portions of the county.

Several very fine orchards are found in this township. Obadiah Stevens, in section thirty-four, has five acres, and advises the Ben Davis as the most prolific for this climate.

The oldest man in the township is Simon Schies, a German, being in his seventy-fifth year; and the oldest woman is Mary E. Kaiser, a native of Switzerland, being in her eighty-third year.

On the farm of J. Williams, in section twenty-two, is a mineral spring impregnated strongly with iron, sulphur and coal oil. If left undisturbed for a few hours, the whole surface of the water is covered with crude oil.

Prairie township has several large stock feeders, among whom is A. R. Beaty. On a farm of 445 acres he manages to feed on an average of 350 head of cattle, and about 500 head of hogs annually. He keeps a few pure bloods, and there is no discount op their being thoroughbreed short f'om Durhams, and are among the finest cattle in the county.

Mt. Olivet Churchy Souths - was organized in 1879, with the following original members: Eliza Simmerman, Eva J. Hill, W. H. Hill, Jere, Lavina, Maggie, Jennie and Alice Holdman, W. W., Sarah E., Maggie, Mary and Martha Jenkins,' Henry F. Williams and Peter P. Elsas.

Their building is a good frame, located on section six, and was dedicated the 18th of May, 1880, by Rev. R. A. Austin. The building is nicely located and cost about $1,250. Rev's R. A. Austin, H. T. Deeper, A. T. Lewis and G. Gregory have been pastors of the congregation. Present membership 90.

A burying ground of two acres, donated by George S. Colby, is connected with the church. The first deposit was the body of Stella Dorsey, daughter of L. E. and Henrietta Dorsey, on the 26th of December, 1878.

Smith township was named in honor of one of its own settlers, John Smith, who resided there at the adoption of the township organization by the people, but who has since been called to his fathers. It embraces but a few full and fractional sections, and is located at the confluence of the Missouri and Grand rivers. It is low bottom lands, mostly covered with large cottonwood timber, and but little of the land but is subject to overflow. Owing to a change by high water of the channel of Grand River a few years ago, a large body of made land has been added to the township. This is mostly sand land susceptible of growing nothing but cotton wood and stunted willows, and at any rise of the river may again become lost to the township.

Among the first who located in Smith, were: Benj. Hensley, Benj. Rogers and Moses Smith. The Wabash St. Louis and Pacific railroad enters Smith township oft section four, where it crosses Grand river, and runs southwesterly through sections 8 and 18, entering De Witt township at the extreme southwest corner of Smith.

The following named persons have served as magistrates for Smith township since the orgination of the county: 1872, Lyle Goodbar; 1874. Lyle Goodbar; 1875, Lyle Goodbar; 1876, A. D. Egleston; 1881, Lyk Goodbar.

General James Shields

General James Shields, who, from the close of the war until his death on Sunday night, June 1st, 1879, was a citizen of this county, was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in the year 1810. His mother was left a widow with three boys on her-hands, and with sufficient means to educate and rear them in a respectable manner. The subject of this shetch being the eldest, gave early evidence of great energy and activity. By the time he was sixteen years of age, he had made himself a good English scholar, a good mathematician, and had acquired a fair knowledge of the classics and the French language. At that age, in 1826, he came to America, and in 1832 he emigrated to the State of Illinois, and began the study of the law in Randolph county, where he was soon admitted to pratice, meeting with the success he anticipated. In 1835 or '36, he was elected to the Legislature from his adopted county. Although successful in law it did not fill the ambition of his heart and he chose politics, the political field seeming to possess greater charms for him, and he soon became prominent in that role. In "Old Vandalia," then the capital of the State, he made the acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, J. Hardin, Edward Baker, and others who have since figured prominently in the history of the country. In 1840 he was elected State Auditor and discharged the duties of that important position with such efficiency and success that he was unanimously re-elected by both parties - Whigs and Democrats. A warm friendship sprung up between him and Douglas, who, about the same time was made secretary of State. In 1846, he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and, in 1845, under the administration of President Polk, he was appointed Commissioner of the general Land Office. The Mexican war breaking out soon after, he offered his services to the government, and was assigned to the command of the Illinois troops as Brigadier-general, his appointment dating from the 1st day. of July, 1846. He served under Gen. Taylor on the Rio Grande, under Gen. Wood in the campaign against Chihuahua, and next under Gen. Scott, when he entered on his campaign in the capture of the city of Mexico. At the seige of Vera Cruz he distinguished Tiimself for activity, ability and undaunted courage. After the fall of Vera Cruz, the army under Scott was obliged to encounter the whole Mexican force at Cerro Gordo, the strongest natural position on the continent. Shields was assigned to attack the reserve under the command of Santa Anna in person. This attack he carried out with such intrepidity and skill, that he fairly surprised the Mexican army, and swept them before him, carrying a battery of six pieces at the point of the bayonet. Unfortunately, before this battery, he received a wound, deemed at the time mortal; a grape shot punctured his right lung, tore through his body, and passed out near the spine. In the official dispatches to the war office, he was reported dead. To the surprise of everybody, and to the astimishment of the medical staff of the army, in ten weeks he was again in the saddle and at the head of his command. He entered the valley of Mexico with the army, his brigade consisting of the* New York volunteers, the Palmettos of South Carolina, and a battalion of U. S. Marines. The first battle fought in the valley was that of Contreras, where the enemy was strongly posted within their intrenchments. Geh. Persifer Smith was sent against them in the afternoon, and Shields was sent to join him at night, and being senior in rank, was entitled to take command, but finding that Smith had made his dispositions to make an attack upon the enemy at day-break, and approving of his arrangements, he declined to deprive Smith of the honor of the achievement. He served under him the next morning, and aided him materially in the attack, which was wholly successful. The following day was fought the battle of Cherubusco, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war. In this fight. Shields was assigned the command of a division, and appointed again to attack the Mexican reserve under his old antagonist Santa Anna. This he accomplished with rapidity and fearless audacity, and although the enemy were five to one, he carried their position, captured their artillery, and drove them broken and shattered into the city of Mexico; but this daring exploit cost him the lives of some of his bravest officers and about one third of his entire command. The gallant and noble Palmetto regiment lost half its number in killed and wounded on that bloody field. Next succeeded the storming of Chapultepec. In this engagement he was again seriously wounded. His arm was struck by a musket ball, which tearing through, passed out near the elbow. Regardless of the wound he pursued the enemy to the very gates of the Mexican capital, having his horse shot under him. The capture of the city followed, and peace being soon after concluded, he returned home to Illinois. In 1849, Illinois made him senator of the United States, he and-Douglas being colleagues. He served six years with Webster, Calhoun, Clay. Benton and Cass. After his term in the Senate expired he emigrated to Minnesota, then a territory, which on being admitted to the Union, Shields was chosen one of its senators. The climate of Minnesota proving too severe, pn his term of Senator expiring, he made a trip to California where he married. While on the Pacific coast the war of the rebellion broke out, and he again offered his services to his adopted country. He was again appointed Brigadier General and telegraphed for by the War Department, and was assigned to the command of the army of Western Virginia. His desperate struggles in the Shenandoah Valley are part of the history of the country and is unnecessary to recount here. He is the only officer that ever coped successfully with Stonewall Jackson, and shortly after his encounter with that celebrated general he was relieved from duty at his own request, and sent to California, where he remained until the close of the war.

In 1866 he returned to the east and selected Missouri as his home. He purchased a farm in Carroll county, near Carrollton and resided upon it in peaceful retirement until 1874, when he was chosen to represent the county in the state legislature. At the close of his term he again went into retirement on his farm until the summer of 1877, when he removed to the city. His remarkable lecturing tour of the fall of that year and the winter and spring of 1878 is scarcely to be mentioned, although it was more after the nature of a triumphal tour of a conquering hero than the filling of lecture engagements. On the 21st of January, 1879, he was chosen by the legislature of Missouri to fill the unexpired term of L. V. Bogy, in the United States senate, which term expired on the 4th of March, 1879. Thus is briefly given some of the important dates of the events in the history of this remarkableman - a hero in war, a patriot in peace ; a model of true manhood; in life he was loved for his virtues, and in death he is mourned by a nation, and by none more deeply than those who knew him best. The following lines written by George W. Dunn, of Richmond, on Gov. Preston's presentation speech to Gen. Shields, will here form a fitting contribution:

Rev. Abbot Hancock

It is important that the names of good men, though dead, should live in the memory of those who know of their virtues, and to give them to the rising generations, when they have gone to their reward. Such was Rev. Abbot Hancock, whose name heads this notice, who. gave many years of his life and fortune in planting the doctrines of morals and Christianity in the bounds of Carroll county. He was born in the state of Kentucky, and came to Missouri in 1807, with his parents, and in 1810 to Cooper's Bottom, in Howard county. He was a nephew of Cols. Benj. and Sarshel Cooper, a boy soldier in many a skirmish with the Indians, and a volunteer under Col. Henry Dodge, who, with his regiment, swam the Missouri river at Arrow Rock, and supprised a camp of Miami Indians, just below the town of Miami. About the year 1820 he married Miss Lucinthia Kavanagh, by whom he raised a large family. Mr. Hancock was of a restless nature, and moved apd removed until the year 1836, he came to Carroll county. He had been ordained a minister by the Rev. Ferris Ewing and Samuel King, in 1828. He was associated with Eli Guthrie, Hugh R. Smith, Daniel Patton, Robert and Henry Renick, Wiley Clark, and other ministers of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Here he labored faithfully without fee or support from the church, until 1851, when he went to California to improve his financial condition. The overland trip was too severe for one of his age, his fine constitution^gave way, and he died soon after reaching the golden state. His widow survived him some 25 years. Three daughters survive their parents; two in Carroll county, and one in Montana. The memory of such a man is held dear to those who knew him. As the population of the county has greatly increased, the few remaining friends of a good man should embalm his name in the annals of the county, in which he spent the last days of his life. The date of his birth is not known by the writer of this notice, but his impression is, it was about the year of 1795 or '96.

Col. William Hill

was born in the county of Adams, Ohio, on the 4th of February, 1812. He was married in his twentieth year, to Miss Sarah B. Watson, of the same county, and emigrated to Missouri in 1837. He settled on the Missouri river in township 51, range 23; purchased a tract of timbered land from Noah Caton and established a wood yard. In 1838 Mr. Caton sold his remaining land to a Mr. Reed, who laid off the same into town lots, and had a sale of lots. Not a lot sold was ever recorded in the county, and the town of Reedsburg became extinct. The same year Colonel Hill had a few dry goods and groceries, and in 1839 built a dwelling house. His family lived in the lower room and kept his goods up stairs, using a bed for a counter. This was the beginning of a business that soon deveL oped into the most extensive in the county. In 1839 he built a store house across the road from his dwelling, and 'Mr. Lewis B. Ely became his clerk. A sandbar forming in front of the warehouse made it very inconvenient to do business. Col. Hill with several gentlemen bought the Pitt's land in 1843, and laid out a town called Moscow, in 1844. The river gave evidences of an overflow and Col. Hill moved his fan^ily and goods to Carrollton. In 1845 he built a fine dwelling and store house, a pork house and one for receiving, baling and shipping hemp. In the fair his family moved down to Moscow; here a heavy business in pork packing and baling and shipping hemp was done for several years, and Moscow had the appearance of rivaling Carrollon. In 1851 Wm. H. Trotter married the eldest daughter. Miss Mary Jane Hill, and became a partner in the store at this place. Col. Hill's brother, Jonathan, also became a partner. In the year of 1853 or '54, the river again becoming uncertain they were compelled to move their business about two miles below. Sold his dwelling and farm to Capt. Charles K. Baker, and the fate of Moscow is like that of Reedsburg, known only to a few. After his removal for the third time, things had the appearance of permanency, and the hemp baling, pork packing, shipping of live stock, receiving and forwarding goods, gave everything an impetus, and all again became sanguine of success and another town was laid out, and called Carroll City, but like its predecessors, is not known to have existed. Mr. Ely had charge of the house of Hill & Ely, and of the firm of Hill, Ely & Minnis, which houses grew to such importance that they bought nearly all the hemp, beef, cattle and hogs, and drove and shipped the same to St. Louis, Hill attending to the out door business. Hill was a man that kept his own secrets; but few knew his views in regard to the approaching troubles in 1861, when the tocsin of war was sounded, and Gen. W. Y. Slack of Livingston was making his way across the country to Lexington, Col. Hill, without noise, iind letting but few know of his determination to report to Gen. Slack, at

Teney's Point, in Ray county, returned home, and made confidential arrangements with his partner (Mr. L. B. Ely, in whom he had every reason to believe the understanding would be faithfully carried out in the event of his*death), and reported again to Gen.- Slack and Price. Gen. Price knew his man and appointed him quartermaster general, with the rank of colonel. He led and clothed the army at Cowskin, Wilson's Creek, Dry Wood and Lexington, showing ability. In trying times, as soon as the surrender at Lexington, and the smoke of battle had cleared way, he came down to see his family, remained a day or two and like a true, brave soldier returned to his post of duty. When the army fell back as far as Osceola, at that place he was too sick to travel and was left at that place. His son Franklin visited him and found that Osceola was threatened by Gen. Jim Lane and jayhawkers. He brought him home and after partially recovering he attended to the business of Hill & Trotter, Mr. Trotter having died during Col. Hill's absence. About the time he had recovered from his sickness, Gen. Benjamin Prentiss with 1,500 infantry and cavalry was rriaking his way down the Missouri river. Col. Hill, with a number of other citizens, thought it prudent to cross the river on the 16th of December, 1861, to meet troops crossing at Brunswick, and others gathering in Saline county. On the 19th they were captured near Kirkpatrick's mill, on Blackwater, in Johnson county, by Gen. Baker, commanding Iowa troops. Col. Hill's son Joseph was with him. They were all marched to Sedalia, and shipped to St. Louis in open stock cars and marched to McDowell College, then a federal prison. Confinement, inability, unventilated room, was too much for one, whose custom had been to have open and fresh air, and Col. Hill soon yielded and became a prey to typhoid fever. His old friend, James E. Yeatman, seeing his condition, procured his release and that of his son, Joseph. They were removed to the Olive street hotel, on the 20th day of January, 1862, and on the 24th Col. Hill died. His remains were sent home, and all that is now mortal of a good, brave man has become part and parcel of the soil of Carroll - the county' of his adoption, where his name for years to come will be revered by old and young. No man's history will be of more interest to Carroll county, and his descendents can point to his name, when it shall be seen on the pages of the history of the county, with pride and learn to imitate his virtues. He was a. warm and affectionate husband and father, and a kind and indulgent friend. His hand was ever open to relieve distress, contributing liberally to every public enterprise for the good and advancement of the county. Col. Hill, in early life, became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, also his wife, m 1845 or '46. He, with his wife, became members of the Christian church, under the ministry of Elder Thomas Gaines. His widow is still living m Carrollton. Five sons, Franklin, in Montana, James, William, Joseph and

Charles in Carroll county, and ' one daughter, Mrs. Ella Bills, now of Denver, Colorado, are his children. Col. Hill's height was 5 ft. 10 in., with a well-knit frame, a steady eye, a full face, a broad chin, quick, firm step, giving every indication ever to a stranger that he was no ordinary man.

Major Charles Sterne

The subject of this notice was born in Stafford county in the good old state of Virginia on the 15th day of April, 1804; was the fourth son of Capt. John Sterne - his mother nee Miss Samuels, of Caroline county, of the same state. He belongs to an ancient family wiio resided on the same old Homestead (Rose Hill) to the fifth generation. A married daughter was the first to leave the county of Stafford, whose husband came to Missouri, and in a few years died in Howard county. Her brother, John Y. Sterne came west to remove his sister and family back to Virginia. While here he became acquainted with a Miss Fannie Collins. He returned to Missouri and was married to her and remained here. In the year 1830 the subject of this notice came to Missouri on a visit, remained here twelve months, returned to Virginia and in 1832 married Miss Mary Brent Blackwell, and in the fall of the same year moved to Ohio, made a crop in Adams county and in the fall of 1833 came to Missouri. By this marriage had two children to be grown, a daughter and son - and removed from Howard to Carroll county, in 1840. Soon after the death of his wife he married a second time. After coming to Carroll his daughter was married to Mr. Isaac O. Herndon, who lived but a few years, leaving an only daughter to inherit a very handsome estate left at the death of her grandfathej*. His son was a noble young man - kind, brave and generous; was lieutenant in the first cavalry company that left this county, in 1861, under Gen. Price, and when the home guards were disbanded he re-enlisted and was elected to the same position and transferred to the trans-Mississippi department, and received a mortal wound at the two days' fight of Corinth. He died in a few days. His remains fill an unknown grave. Major Sterne was a large man, full six feet and two inches high, of a cheerful disposition, enjoyed the society of friends ; was charitable, kind and devoted to his church (Presbyterian). He left a widow in feeble health, who died soon after her widowhood.

was born in Scott county, Kentucky, on the second day of June, 1796. ^n early life his parents moved and settled permanently in the county of Harrison, in the town of Cynthiana. He served an appenticeship to the cabinet business when nineteen years of age. He volunteered as a soldier m the war of 1812, company commanded by Capt. M. Forest, in the reg- iment of Col. Porter, of Harrison county, who crossed Lake Erie and was at the battle of Upper Grand River in Canada, and in several other engagements and skirmishes. After the campaign in March, 1815, he returned home. Some years after the close of the war he removed to Huntsville in the state of Alabama, and in the year following was married to Mariah, daughter of Capt. Smith. Four years after his marriage he returned to Kentucky, where he was soon elected constable and served several years as such; was deputy sheriff of Harrison county in 1832; Moved to the state of Missouri and settled in Carroll^ county in what is now known as Rockford township. In 1833 was judge of the county which position he held for 20 years. At the age of twenty-two years he was made a master mason in Huntsville and at the age of twenty-six took the degree of royal arch in Cynthiana, and in said chapter was associated with such distinguished masons as Stephen D. W. Carnegy, who served as grand master of grand lodge of Missouri, Gov. Deshea, Hon. Mr. Coleman, member of congress, and other distinguished men of Kentuky. He was a charter member of Wakanda lodge. No. 52 and of George Washington chapter. No. 34, of Carrollton, Mo. His personal appearance was six feet two inches in height, very erect and remarkably neat in his dress, very courteous in manners and warmly attached to friends. A whig in politics in early life until 1855, and when the whig party was swallowed up with the know-nothing party, he became associated with the democratic party in which he lived and died.

Col. James A. Pritchard

In the spring of 1852, James Avary Pritchard, emigrated from Boone county, Kentucky, to Carroll county, Missouri ; bought a tract of land about five miles north of Carrollton and settled on it. Afterward he sold this tract of land, and after a year's residence in Carrollton hepurchaseda large farm in the eastern part of the county, near DeWitt, to which he removed. He was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, on the 25th of December, 1816. His ancestors were Virginians, of the old cavalier stock, his paternal grandfather after whom he was named, being a soldier in the revolutionary war, and one of the*heroes of the battle of Cowpens. His mother was a Miss America Grimes, and first cousin to the illustrious Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Unfortunately he lost his mother before he was fourteen years old, and his father contracting a second marriage not a great while afterwards, he was throwm on his own resources, from that time on. Gifted with indomitable energy, courage and self-reliance, unaided save by the God of the orphan, he fought his own wav to true, and glorious manhood. There never wa§ a boy, or man, so little subject to temptation as James A. Pritchard. Surrounded often at different periods of his life, by many and great temptations, they had- no power over his life or character, and left them untainted - unblemished, by any vice whatever. While quite jmung, he united with the Christian Church, and iu 1853 was appointed one of the elders of the congregation in Carrollton, which position he held until his death. In 1847, being then sheriff of Boone county, Kentucky, in response to a call on Kentucky for more troops for the Mexican war, he raised a company of over a hundred men and enlisted in the army. The company of which he was Captain, was enrolled as company D. third regiment, Kentucky volunteer infantry, Mirlins V. Thompson Colonel, of* the regiment. John C. Breckenridge General of the Brigade. They were ordered to the City of Mexico, and for several months, held their headquarters in the halls of the Montezumas, remaining in the service until the close of the war, when they were honorably discharged on the 21st of July 1848. On the 5th of October 1848, Col. Pritchard was married to Miss M. F. Williamson, daughter of Cok John Williamson of Petersburgh, Boone County, Kentucky. In the following spring, he was seized as were many others, with the epidemical gold fever then prevailing over the country, and made the overland trip to California, leaving his home in Kentucky, on the 10th of April 1849, and arriving in California on the 11th of the ensuing August. He remained in California nearly two years, subject to many vicissitudes while there, and was joyfully greeted at his Kentucky home on the 2d of March 1851.

It was during his stay in the Golden State, that meeting with several gentlemen from Missouri, and becoming warmly attached to them, that he formed the resolution to pitch his tent in the grand Missouri prairies. Col. Pritchard's career in Carroll county is well known to all who resided in the county, in antibellum days.

While pursuing the usual avocation of an energetic, enterprising farmer, he was aLthe same time ever ready to contribute both his services and his means for the promotion of every public enterprise for the general good. In 1858 he was elected to the state legislature over Col. Stephen Stafford, one of his warmest personal friends. He served his constituents to the best of his ability through the three rather stormy sessions during which he sat in that body.

A southern man by birth, education and principles, when the civil war broke out he very naturally embraced the cause of the south, and served under Gen. Sterling Price, first as lieutenant colonel and afterward a colonel of the third regiment, Missouri volunteer infantry. No man, north or south, ever regretted the dismemberment and strife of his country more than he. But w'hen the die was cast no one ever did what he deemed his duty more faithfully. In one of his letters from the army he says: "You well know there has been a dark, gloomy cloud of foreboding hanging over my mind for several years in regard to my country. I have resisted disunion in every' shape that it has presented itself.

But the crisis has been forced upon us, and we must make the best of it we can." And'again: "I feel' that this is a just and holy cause we are engaged in, and that it is my indispensable duty to be here. In fact, I would hate myself if I were anywhere else. Could I be base enough lo desert my country, in this, her hour of danger, I feel that the curse of heaven would beset my path with thorns at every turn in life.' This may be a mistaken view of the subject, but it is my religious and conscientious view of it; if I am mistaken I hope God will forgive me." 1 insert these extracts merely to show the sentiments and principles that actuated him in the last great enterprise of his life. He left home for the army on the j8th of yune^ 1861. Sometimes there is. something in a mere date that thrills the human heart to its core. As I sit here this mournful autumn eve, gathering up these fragments of the past, as that date drops from my pen, a curtain is slowly lifted from a sacred picture hanging in memorj^'s halls. I see a mansion looming up amid waving forest trees. Flowers are blooming around it, for it is the month of roses. The air is musical with the songs of thousands of wild birds. Canaries are trilling in their cages. Squirrels run up and down the trees, or bask contentedly in the sunshine; for in that home everything is protected - no wanton gun is ever drawn on bird or squirrel, so everything grows tame and happ3^ It is a breezy summer morn, and in the wide hall of that mansion a weeping group are gathered to bid husband, friend and kind, indulgent master farewell. His features work convulsively, for he has a tender, loving heart, yet a firm resolve is on his brow as he takes the hands one after another of the faithful servants, over whose dusky cheeks the tears are streaming, bids adieu to another, dear as his life, and turns his back upon his home - his beautiful Rosewild, little as he thought so then - to return no 7nore. For never again were the quiet shades of Rosewild brightened by his presence.

With this digression we will drop the curtain again (seldom has it been lifted to mortal eye), and resume our narrative. On the tenth of the following August, in the battle of Springfield, or as some call it. Oak Hill, Colonel Pritchard had three horses shot from under him, receiving himself a slight wound in the thigh. He was a skillful commander and brave and cool in battle, his men unhesitatingly following where he led. He commanded the universal respect of his brother officers, and the unlimited confidence and aft'ection of his soldiers. Passing through many gory battles, and coming oft the field unscathed, although his clothing would sometimes be pierced with bullet holes, he seemed for a time to bear a charmed life. But unfortunately in the battle of Corinth, on the fourth of October, 1862, after leading his regiment over an abattis. half a mile in depth, charging and taking a batter}*; while waving his sword, and cheering his troops, he received a wound in his left shoulder from a minnie ball, from which he died near Coffeeville, Mississippi, on the twentieth da}'^ of October, 1862. In a lone graveyard near the little village of Coffeeville, three heroes, Lieut- Col. Hubbel, Capt. J. VV. Kemper and Col. James A. Pritchard, sleep side by side the last dreamless sleep of death. Col. Pritchard's wife, upon learning her husband was wounded, hastened to his side, passing through the lines, braving many dangers, hoping to reach her husband while life remained to him, but too late. Ere the wife could reach him her husband had passed to the great beyond, and Her tears could but fall on the grave of one of Misrouri's noblest men.

John C. Baker

son of Archibald and Mary J. Baker, nee Morris, natives of Coshocton county, Ohio, was born August 28, 1852. ^ His early life was spent on a farm, going to Illinois when yet small, and remaining till he was eighteen. He traveled extensively through Iowa and Nebraska, and in 1871, settled in Carroll county, where he has since remained, following farming. In the spring of 1881, with Coleman Hubbard, bought out a dry goods and general merchandizing establishment at Little Compton, where they are now doing btisineSs. - On the- 25th day of March, he wa»- married to Mis? Sarah A., daughter of Ralph and Hannah J. Farr, natives of Ohio. Two children, Frank^and Bert, bless their union. Mr. Baker is a Baptist, and his wife a Methodist.

Ralph Farr

was born April 11, 1826, in Portage county, Ohio, and is a son of Kimball Farr, a native of Massachusetts, and Ruth Farr, nee Gregory, of Kentucky. At the age of fourteen he went to Butler county, Ohio, where he resided about ten years, working on a farm. He went to Porter county, Indiana, and soon after to California, remaining about two years. Returning to Indiana, he bought a farm. From there he went to Iowa, and preempted a claim in Franklin county, that state, and returned to Indiana. In 1867 he came to Carroll county, where he has since resided, and followed farming. He has a coal mine on his farm, which he is working extensively. He was married the 11th of January, 1850, to Miss Hannah Jm daughter of Aaron and Mary C. Surris, of Richland county, Ohio. B3' fhis marriage they have five children : Cornelia J., now Mrs. Bellow ; Sarah A., now Mrs. J. C. Baker; Elzie L., Albia C., and Carl D. Mr. and Mrs. Farr are members of the Baptist Church.

John J. Callaway

was born in Howard county, Missouri, on the 10th of December, 1826, and came to Carroll county in 1839. He is a son of Ambrose and Susan Callaway. His early life was spent in this county, on a farm. On the 28th of November, 1854, he married Miss Eliza, a daughter of Rev. Elijah Jeffries, a Free WiU Baptist, who came to this county in 1850, from Kentucky. Mr. Callaway resided in this county until September, 1859, when they moved to Texas, returning to Carroll in July of the following year, when he bought a grist and saw-mill, at the old Compton ferry, which he run until the spring of 1865. He purchased a farm and improved it, in Compton township, and died on the 2d of July, 1871. His widow survives him, and his children, seven in number, are Bettie J.^ Ambrose, Jeft D., Mildred L., Sarah A., John H., and Richard E. Mrs. Callaway resides still on the home place, and is a member of the Baptist Church.

John R. Patteson

J. R. Patteson is a son of Allen D. and Julia Patteson, formerly Julia Miller, of Kentucky, and was born in Adair county, that state, on the 24th of October, 1828. He resided in the place of his nativity until 1850, when he came to Carroll county, Missouri, settling in Sugar Tree township, moving to his present location in 1861, where he owns one hundred acres of land, following the avocation of farming and stock-raising. He was married on the 31st of October, 1858, to Miss Mary F., a daughter of Ambrose and Susan Callaway, of Kentucky. Ambrosg Callaway was killed by Col. Morgan's men, on the 18th of October, 1861, at his home, on section nineteen. Hurricane township. Mrs. Patteson's grandfather was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and was a prisoner five years with the British forces. Her grandfather Jackson was one of the earliest settlers of Kentucky., The Indians captured his son William, and adopted him, making him a chief. He married an Indian woman, and had his children educated at Lexington, Kentucky. The subject of this notice came to Missouri in 1839, and has been engaged at farming. He is the father of six children, five of whom are living, namely: Nannie T., Congrave C., Katie N , William H., and Susan F. Mr. and Mrs. Patteson are members of the Baptist Church.

Leven Comer

Mr. Comer was born in Greenbriar county, Virginia, the 21st of January, 1819, and is a son of Archibald and Sarah Comer, nee Benson, also of Virginia. His early life was passed in his native place, and at the age of nineteen he went to Ohio, where he remained until 1865, when he came to Carroll county. Mo. He is a farmer and stock raiser, and owns a farm of three hundred acres of fine land. He was married in Sept. 1839^ to Miss Rachael, daughter of Dr. Gabriel H. and Elizabeth McNeil. Three children blessed this union, one only, Martha, now Mrs. John D. Ray, living. Mrs. Comer also passed away on August 14, 1878. John

D. Ray husband of Martha Comer, was born in Morgan county, Ohio, on the 25th of January 1852. He came to this county in March 1865, and was married April 8, 1877. Two children, William M. and Ethel E. bless the union. Mr. Ray follows farming, and they are members of the Missionary Baptist church, Mr. Comer and family being members of the M. E. Church.

John Howard

was born in England on the 12th of September, 1823. He is a son of Edward and Rachael Howard, nee Mulbry. His younger days or until eighteen years of age, he spent in his native isle, coming to the United States in 1852, having spent the intervening time on the domain of Neptune as a sailor. In 1855, he found his way to Carroll county, and located in Compton township, where he still resides. He has, by industry and fugality acquired one hundred acres of land, and has made farming his vocation. During the war he was in the confederate service. In December 1859, he led Miss Helen, a daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth Broyles to the altar, the union being blessed with four children, namdy: Susan A. now Mrs. Owen, Robert M., John E. and Tudie. Mr. and Mrs. Howard are members of the Baptist church.

Jefferson Gallaher

was born on the 5th day of December 1825, in East Tennessee, and is a son of Alexander and Nancy Gallaher, of North Carolina. Until the age of twenty-four he spent his time at the place of his nativity, farming. He first came to Lynn county, Missouri, where he resided until 1865, when he came to Chariton, remaining until 1869, when he came to Carroll where he now resides, and owns one hundred and twenty acres of land; dividing his time between his farm and his drug and grocery store in Little Compton. On the 1st day of December, 1846, he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of James and Sarah Ailor, which marriage, is blessed by the following children: Vanda Lee, now Mrs. Odell, William P., Sarah E., John B., James M., Nancy J. and Charles J. The county court having special confidence in the ability of Mr. Gallaher, appointed him a instice of the peace for Compton township. They are members of the' M.

Burnoit Woods

tucky, and came to Carroll County in 1834. He was the first minister that located permanently in the county, and was especially active in ridding the county of Mormonism. The mother of the subject of this sketch was a Miss Elizabeth Warren, of Tennesse, and is now seventynine years old. Mr. Woods was^but seven years old when he came to this county, and passed through all the hardships incident to pioneer life. In 1846 he enlisted in company K, Price's regiment, 2d Missouri mounted volunteers, and went to Mexico, remaing till 1847, when he returned. In 1848 he returned with a train to Mexico, and in 1850 he went to California and Oregon, remaining seven years, returning in 1857. In 1864 he enlisted in company E, Williams' regiment, serving to the. close of the war, since which time he has lived in Compton, following farming. On the 16th day of September, 1858, he married Miss Dicy Patteson, a daughter of Allen and Julia Patteson, of Kentucky. Mr. Woods is a Cumberland Presbyterian, believing in the faith of his father, while Mrs. Woods is a Baptist. He is a member of Wakanda Lodge, No. 52, A. F. and A. M., and is a strong greenbacker.

William H. Adams

Wm. Hicks Adams was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, on the 8th day of April, 1830. He attended the schools of his native county, in his youth and finished his education at South Salem Institute, in Ohio. He obtained the means to attend this school by teaching, which profession he commenced following in his native state, at the age of seventeen years. He afterwards taught in Randolph and Montgomery counties, Indiana, for several years. Wm. H. Adams was married in Randolph county, Indiana, June 10, 1853, to Miss Martha Sands, daughter of Abijah Sands, of that county. After his marriage he was engaged in Crawfordsville, Indiana, at cabinet making, until the year 1867, when he came to this state and settled on a farm, in Greenton valley in Lafayette county. There he remained but one year and then moved to Morton, in Ray, where he farmed for five years. In 1873 he came to this county and located upon the same farm upon which he is at present living, in section 5, Prairie township. This place is well improved and in a prosperous condition. Mr. Adams was elected, in April, 1881, on the democratic ticket, to the office of justice of the peace, in his township. He has always been an ardent advocate and strong supportor of the democratic party. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Adams, six of whom still live: Mag. Dora, Effie, Delphus, Carlotta, Marshall and Buford. Mag. Dora is now the wife of James Spurlock of Lafayette county. Mr. and Mrs. Adams and their daughter Effie are members of Mt. Olive M. E. church, south, was born September 17, 1849, in Hamilton, Buckner county, Ohio. He is the son of. George H. Bronson, a railroad contractor, 'who moved to St. Louis, when Winfield was but six years old. Winfield was raised in St. Louis and educated in the School of the Christian Brothers, a Catholic college in St. Louis. At the age of eighteen years he accepted a position in Parker's drug store on Broadway and Car streets, St, Louis, and held this position for four years. In 1867 he went to Ottawa, Kansas, and lived with his uncle for two years, and then engaged in various speculations. He went to Chicago in 1869 and read medicine with Dr. Copp and then went to the University of New York and graduated in Physic and surgery, in 1875. He soon afterward opened a drug store on Thirtysecond street and Tenth avenue, in New York city, and at the same time engaged in the practice of medicine. He sold out there in 1878 and after stopping in Kirkwood, Missouri, for a few months, came to Carroll county and commenced practicing medicine in Prairie township, located seven miles northwest of Norborne. He is now living in section 21, of that township, and is meeting with unusual success. He was married July 31, 1880, to Miss Margaret J. Jenkins, daughter of W. W. Jenkins, of Carroll county. Dr. Bronson and wife are both members of the M. E. church, south. He being a graduate of the best medical institutions in the United States, has before him a brilliant professional career in the county of his adoption.

William W. Brown

was born December 24, 1843, in Ray county, Missouri; son of Thomas E. Brown, a native of Wilson county, Tennessee, one of the early settlers of Ray county. William lived with his parents until 1862, when he enlisted in company H, 11th Missouri regiment, in Parson's division. Was in battles of Prairie Grove, Helena, Arkansas; Pleasant Hill, Mansfield and Saline River. Was wounded at Helena, Arkansas, shot, through the head. Since the war has been following the pursuit of a farmer, and is one of Carroll county's best citizens. He was married October 19, 1865, to Miss Margaret R. Lents, a native of Tennessee, and daughter of Thomas and Lucinda Lents. They are the parents of five children living; Thomas J., William S., Nathan A., Ivennettia and Lucinda. Mr. Brown came to Carroll county in 1873.

Seth G. Carr

born August 9, 1824, in Logan county, Kentucky. Son of David and Martha Carr, natives of Kentucky. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812. Seth G. moved in company with his parents, in 1836, to Moultrie county, Illinois, and there was raised on a farm. He was married April 20, 1847, to Miss Mary A. Siler, native of Tennessee, daughter of William and Jane Siler, natives of North Carolina. She is a relative of Gen. N. B. Forest, of the late war. Mr. Carr moved to Carroll county, Missouri in 1872, and located on a farm- of 720 acres, in Prairie Township. He has his farm well improved. He has four children - Albert M., Colbert N., Benjamin F. and Jennie. Albert and Benjamin are married and farming in Carroll county. Jennie^ their only daughter, is a member of the Christian church. She attended school at Carrollton and completed her collegiate course at Columbia, Missouri. She has been a close student, and is a fine scholar. Mr. ' Carr and wife are members of the Christian church. He is a staunch democrat.

James Pernal Dale

born January 8, 1838, in Ray county, Missouri. He was raised and educated in the county of his birth. He commenced teaching when nineteen 3'ears old, and taught for five years. He was married March 14, 1860, to

James B. Eads Lucas Market

Miss Mary A. Routh, daughter of Mr. John Routh, of Leavenworth count}'^, Kansas. He moved on his father's farm immediately after his marriage, and although he taught school the three following winters, he succeeded in raising a crop every year. In 1872 he moved to Carroll county and purchase a farm of 100 acres in section 30, of Prairie township. He has since increased the farm io 160 acres. Mr. Dale has improved the farm and has one of the finest orchards in the county. In

1876 Mr. Dale traveled with his family through Nevada, Colorado and territories,' returning in 1878. In 1873 Mr. Dale was elected clerk of Prairie township, under the township organization, which was then in vogue. He served until 1875, when he resignad to take the above named trip. He was elected to the same office in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Dale have had eight children, five sons and three daughters, all living, and named as follows: Edgar, Moses B., James F., Arthur S., Irvine G., Virginia F., Rosa Eureka and Lovina. Mr. Dale and wife are both members of the M. E. Church south. Their son, Moses G., belongs to the same church. Mr. Dale has lived in Prairie township for twenty years.

Leaken E. Dorsey

born in 1824, in Fleming county, Kentucky. He is a son of John Dorsey, a native of Maryland. In 1852 he moved to > Boone county, Missouri, where he remained six years, and then went to Pettis county. Im

1877 he moved to Carroll county, where he has since resided. He now owns 340 acres in section 6, Prairie township, besides 560 acres acrossthe county line in Ray county. Mr. Dorsey is a good farmer, and deals extensively in live stock. He feeds a great man}-^ cattle. In 1852 he was married to Henrietta Williams, a native of Kentucky. They have six children, John E., Oswell B., Edward L., Mary E., Charles A. and Eley B. Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey are members of the M. E. Church south. Mr. Dorsey is a free mason, and belongs to the Dresden lodge, No. 88, in Pettis county, Missouri.

Francis A. Elliott

born February 18, 1834, in Darke county, Kentucky; son of. Alexander and Lucy Elliott, natives of Kentuck}'. He. was raised in the county of his birth until sixteen years old, when he moved to Missouri, stopping one year in Cooper county, and locating in Carroll county, in 1853. He was married January 13, 1861, to Miss Lenora W. Grow, native of Kentucky daughter of Annanias and Sallie Grow. During the war Mr. Elliott was in the home guards. He is now a successful farmer of Carroll county, and has his farm well improved. Mr. and Mrs. Grow are the parents of born in J826, in Tennessee; he is the son of Henry Graves, a blacksmith by trade. Andrew J. came to Missouri in 1850,* and in 1851 moved to Iowa, and remained until 1866 when he returned to Missouri, and located in Carroll county, where he has since remained. In 1854 he was married to Miss Isabella Wadkins of Iowa. They are the parents of four children: Robert, Eliza, Sarah and Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Graves are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church south. They are now living on their farm in section 24, Prairie township. Mr Graves is justice of the peace in his township.

John Johnson

born August 23, 1822, in Denmark. In his early life he was employed by working on a farm, and hunting and fishing after he became a young man. He came to the United States in 1864 and located in Ottawa county, Ohio, where he remained four years, and then came to Carroll county, Missouri. He owns a farm of one hundred and forty acres in prairie township. Mr. Johnson was married in 1856 to Miss Anna Mates, who died in 1859, leaving one child, Nis H. Mr. Johnson was Again married in 1860 to Miss Pragetti Paulsen. To this union were born three children: Ella C., August S. and one deceased. Mr. Johnson's oldest son, Nis H., was born in 1857 in Denmark, and was married May 8, 1881, to Miss Laura E. Knowles of Illinois, daughter of Wm. R. and Hannah L. Knowles. John Johnson and wife are members of the Lutheran church.

born in Duchess county. New York. He is a son of Dr. Stoddard Judd. He was raised and educated in the county of his birth. At the age of eighteen he emigrated with his parents to Wisconsin, and in 1870, he came to Carroll county. Mo., being then twenty-three years old. He has a farm of 500 acres, of fine improved land. He deals extensively in live stock. He was married in 1851, to Miss Maria Tompkins, a native of New York. They have seven children living, Samuel S., George L., Ida F., Mary E., Randall T., Anna M., and Hattie V. Mr. Judd is a member of the I. O. O. F. at Wanshard, Lodge No. 50, in Wisconsin.

Joseph E. Lyon

born January 25, 1842 in Darke county, Kentucky, son of Robert and Jane' Lyon, natives of Kentucky.' Joseph was- raised on the farm and grew to manhood in the county of his birth. He was married November

12, 1863, to Miss Lou. A. Reynolds, daughter of James H. and Elizabeth Reynolds, Kentuckians. He removed to Carroll count}', Mo., in 1869 where he has since made his home following the pursuit of farming. He is at present located.on section 12. Mr. and Mrs Lyon are members of the M. E. church, south, and are the parents of seven children living - Addie E., Frank W., Joseph H., Edward W., Bettie, Helen and Ida.

Rev. Thomas Minnis

born in Carroll county, Missouri. He is a son of John P. and Ann Minnis, who came to Carroll county in 1830 and are among the early sellers of the county. .Tho uas was raised on the farm. He was married February 8, 1859, to Miss Emaline Templeman, daughter of Edward and Nancy Templeman. Mr. Minnis enlisted in the union army and served three years. Since then he has been engaged in farming and stockraising. He* owns 270 acres of land. Mr. Minnis and wife are members of the Baptist church. They have six children living; Leroy D., Robert E., James L., Nannie E., Mertie E. and Effie May. Mr. Minnis has been an ordained minister for eight years, and at present preaches at Coloma. Chapel Hill and Mandeville.

George Osborne

born January 20, 1845, in Cincinnati, Ohio, son of John and Mary A. (Rose) Osborne, natives of Sheffield, England. George spent his early days in Cincinnati and when fourteen years old went to Kentucky where he was engaged in farming. In 1869 he removed to Carroll county. Mo. He was married March 16, 1873 to Mrs. Susan E. (Poindexter) Crockett, daughter of Waddy and Sarah Poindexter, natives of Virginia. They are the parents of two children - Rosa D. and Joseph H. Since living in Missouri Mr. Osburn has followed the occupation of farming. He owns a farm of one hundred acres of land.

Morris Osburn

born December 30, 1839, in Licking county, Ohio, son of Richard and Mary Osburn. Morris was raised on a farm. When twenty-three years old he went to Iowa and remained eighteen months, moving from there to Ray county, Mo., where he purchased land and lived until 1872. His next move was to Carroll county where he bought a farm in section 30 of Prairie township and on which he still resides. He w'as married July 11, 1872 to Miss Mary A. McQuiston, of Ray county, who died March 2, 1873. Mrs. Osburn was a member of the Christian church. Mr. Osburn belongs to the same church. He has taught school a part of the time since twenty-one years old.

William Renzelman

bom March 10th, 1821 in Hannover, Germany. Son of Henry and Mary Renzelman. He spent his early life in the " old country " and came to America in 1848, settled in Carroll county, Missouri, in 1850, living the two years previous in Lafayette and Ray counties. He purchased at first but 40 acres, and by industr}' and economy has bought more land, now owning over 600 acres, Mr. Renzelman is an extensive dealer in live stock. He was married April 14th, 1844 to Miss Mary Schroeder of Hannover, Germany. They are the parents of seven children, Frederick W., Elizabeth W., Lewis, Dora S., Henry A., August W. and William. Mr. Renzelman was in the Home Militia, during the war, but was taken sick and discharged. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church.

was born April 26th,. 1846, in Baden, Germany. Son of Simon and Josephine (Moore) Schies. The family came to America in 1851 and in the spring of 1852 located in Carroll county, entering 40 acres at first in Prairie township, and bought 120 acres of the county. Leopold now owns 246 acres of fine lurid. Mr. Schies was married June 11th, 1866 to Miss Agnes Williams, daughter of Shelton and Margaret Williams of Indiana. They are the parents of eight children, Elizabeth K., Caroline, Sarah J., Simon, John L., Andrew F., Mary E., and Annie A. Mr. Schies was in the state militia during the war, served three years in company A. under Capt. Standley. He and his wife are members of the M.E. church, south. His father, Simon Schies is a catholic and said to be the oldest man in Prairie township. Was born in 1807.

John Staunn

born January 8th, 1841 in Bavaria. Son of Philip P. and Susannah Staunn. John came to America when 16 years old, lived in Ohio four years, stopped in St. Louis a year or two, and in 1837 removed to Carroll county, Missouri and purchased 160 acres of land in Trotter township. In 1856 he built a flour mill on the Wakanda, and with the profits from his mill and farm has purchased land in addition to his former purchase until he has at last become the owner of 940 acres of good land. He was married Oct. 20, 1842, to Miss Eda R. Coleman, a native of Boone county. Mo. They have eight children living, Susannah, (now wife of Mr. Shaffer), Mary (now wife of Mr. Booker,) George, Daniel, John W.,

Louisa, Eda E., and Joel N. Mr. Staunn has been a very successful hunter in his time. It is said that he killed from 50 to 70 deer during one year. He is a member of the Old School Presbyterian church.

Obadiah Stevens

born April 2d, 1841, in Ripley county, Indiana. Son of Sylvester and Mary Stevens. His father was a native of Indiana, and his mother of Pennsylvania. Obadiah was raised on a farm. When 21 years old he enlisted (Aug. 2d, 1862) in company B. 4th Indiana cavalry, and took part in the battles of Chickamauga and others; was taken prisoner at the battle of Atlanta and kept in prison at Andersonville, Charleston, and Florence, for four months. He received his discharge from service May 5th, 1865, and returned to Indiana. In 1867 he removed to Carroll county, Missouri, and purchased 240 acres of land, and here he is extensively engaged in farming and stock raising. Mr. Stevens was married. May 31st, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Sutton, native of Indiana, and daughter of David M. and Margaret Sutton. They are the parents of six children, Ida V., Lillie R., Ella, Sylvester, David M. and Obadiah.

born February 23d, 1853, in Bedford county, Tennessee. Son bf Nehemiah and Louanna Sugg, natives of Tennessee. He came to Carroll county, Mo., in 1870, and was married May 30th, 1873, to Miss Mary P. Smithpeter, daughter of William and Mary Smithpeter, Tennesseeans. After their marriage they lived in Leslie Township, until 1880, when they moved on their present farm of eighty acres in Prairie Township, in section 26. They have four children living, Louanna M., Venie B., Athel Lee, and Willie P.

James T. Sumpter

born February 15th, 1849, in Monroe county, Mo. Son of John W. and Susan Sumpter. He moved to Illinois in 1860, where he remained but one year, and returned to Missouri. After a stay of two years he removed to Logan county, Ills., and was there engaged in farming until 1878, when he came to Carroll county. Mo. He was married January 28th, 1876, to Miss Winnie Reed, daughter of W. P. and Charlotte Reed, of Illinois. Mr. Sumpter is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church.

Luther W. Sumpter

born February 8th, 1854, in Monroe county. Mo. Son of John W. and Susan Sumpter. His father John W., was killed at Kirksville, Mo., July 4th, 1861, while on his way out to where the Militia were drilling. He was .attacked by George Wood, struck over the head with a loaded cane, and stabbed with a dirk. The cause of the attack was merely because Mr. Sumpter was a Democrat. The murderer attempted to escape, but

Vvas pursued, and shot nine times, by his own men. The wounds, were only flesh wounds, and did not prove fatal. He was put in jail, and after a duration of three days, w^s taken out by some men at night, and hanged. Luther W., spent his early days In Monroe county, and at the age of fifteen, moved to Illinois, where he was engaged in farming. In the fall ot

1878, he removed to Carroll county. Mo., where he has since made his home, living at present on section 24, of Prairie Township. He was married August 22d, 1880, to Miss Susan Fox, daughter of John and Elizabeth Fox. Mr. Sumpter is a member of the M. E. Church;

Wm. Franklin Thomason

Wm. Franklin Thomason is a Missourian by birth, and was born in Clinton county on the 26th day of June, 1845. His father, Benjamin F. Thomason, a farmer, died in 1846. This caused the family to move to Clay county, where lived Wm. F. Thomason's grandfather. , He was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. David Lincoln. He completed his education at the William Jewell college, at Liberty, Missouri. His business through life has always been farming. He commenced farming for himself in Clay county, when he was 22 years old. He lived in Clay county about four years, and in the spring of 1872 came to Carroll county and bought the place on which he now resides, in Prairie township. His farm consists of 160 acres of improved land. The improvements on the place rank among the first in the neighborhood. Mr. Thomason was married in November, 1873, to Miss Julia M. Keyes, of Ray county. They have two children, one daughter and one son: Aggie Belle and Isaac Franklin. The former born November 25, 1874, the latter April 27,

1879. Mr. Thomason is a member of the Christian church; his wife is a member of the M. E. church, south. He is insured in two life insurance companies; the National Christian Temperance Union and the Farmer's and Mechanic's of St. Louis. He is justly ranked among the enterprising and thrifty farmers of Carroll county.

Jeremiah Williams

was born April 24, 1820, in Lewis county. New York. Son of Absalom and Fannie Williams - the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of New York. Jeremiah was raised on a farm in the county of his birth. In 1843 he moved to Illinois, and resided in Chicago for one year, and then removed to Wisconsin, where he remained until 1875. In that year he came to Carroll county, Missouri, and settled on some land that he had previously purchased. He is now engaged in stock raising and farming. Owns 618 acres of land, besides having given 360 acres to his children. He was married July 5, 1852, to Miss Mary A. Randall, a native of Orleans county. New York, daughter of John S. and Almira Randall. They have

History Of Carroll Countv

Mrs. Williams is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Williams takes an active part in politics and is a republican. During the later war was deputy U. S. marshall, and enrolling officer in Columbia county, Wisconsin.

John S. Williamson

John S. Williamson was born in the city of Cincinnati; Ohio, June. 6, 1825. He is the son of Rev. John Williamson, a Meth(*dist minister, who was well known and highly respected in Ohio. The family lived near Cincinnati, until John was eleven years old and then, in 1836, moved to Illinois, and settled upon a farm in Fulton county. There he finished his education and grew up on a farm. He has always followed the avocation of farming, and has made a success of that business. He moved from Illinois to Ray county, Missouri, and rented a farm there for one year, and then moved upon a tract of land which he had purchased in Carroll county. This place lies in section 3Lof Prairie township, and is improved with good buildings and a thrifty orchard. Upon this place Mr. Williamson has continued to reside ever since he came to this county, and by his fair and honorable conduct, has won the honor and esteem of his neighbors. He was married in Knoxville, Illinois, on the 23d day of August, 1854, to Miss Mary A. Leeper, daughter of Thomas Leeper, of Fulton county. Six children, three of each sex, have been born of this union, all of whom are now living: Charles, Laura, May, Abraham L., Emma, and George. Mr. Williamson is a substantial farmer and a good citizen.

Robert A. Wright

Robert A. Wright was born in Trimble county, Kentucky, on the 31st day of January, 1839. He was reared and educated in the county of his birth. He moved with his father in 1868 to Clinton county, Missouri. In 1871 they moved to Carroll county, and Robert A. moved on some land that he had purchased in 1870. His father lived with him until his death which occurred in August, 1877. His mother, Mrs. Mary Wright, is still living and makes her home with her son, the subject of this sketch. His farm lay in section 28, of Prairie township. He sold part of this in 1876, and the remainder in 1881. He immediatel}' afterward bought 320 licres of improved land (two miles north of his former place) in section 15. Mr. Wright will endeavor to make this one of the finest improved* farms in the county. He was married in Carroll county June 1, 1873, to Miss Eliza Owen, formerly of Kentucky. They have one daughter and three sons: Cora Eleanor, born February 14, 1874; Wm. Henry, born November 1, 1875; Charles Allen, born January 18, 1878; Ralph, born February 18, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are both members of the