Biography of J. B. Thomas

J. B. THOMAS. There is no enterprise of equal importance in Howell County, Missouri, than that of insurance. Among those engaged in this business is our subject, J. B. Thomas, one of the representative men of Willow Springs and abstracter and notary public of that city. Mr. Thomas came from southern Iowa and has made his home in Willow Springs for the past five years. He is a native Kentuckian, born in Mason County August 27, 1859, and his father, James C. Thomas, is farming in that county at the present time. The latter is also a native of that … Read more

Biography of R. V. Lasater

R. V. LASATER. The American people not only travel more extensively than any other nation, but they patronize to a greater extent the numerous establishments for the hire of horses and carriages. One of the best known, most deservedly popular and liberally patronized livery stables in this city is that conducted by R. V. Lasater, a wide-awake, thorough-going business man. Mr. Lasater was born in St. Francois County, Missouri, November 28, 1858, and is a son of Reuben and Elizabeth (Govreau) Lasater. The father was born in Tennessee, and when but a boy came to Missouri. About 1868 he located … Read more

Biography of Dr. J. C. B. Dixon

DR. J. C. B. DIXON. One of the old and honored medicine men and citizens of Howell County, Missouri, is Dr. C.B. Dixon. This gentleman was born in Tennessee, August 20, 1823, and is a son of Thomas and Ann (Maybury Dixon. The grandfather, Edam Dixon, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He moved from North Carolina to Tennessee while the Indians were still in that section, and was one of the nine pioneers in East Tennessee. The father of our subject was born in North Carolina, became a substantial farmer, and died in Tennessee, as did also his … Read more

Biography of James A. Ferguson

JAMES A. FERGUSON. This prominent citizen, who is a member of the firm of Ferguson, Lucas & Kennedy, of Willow Springs, and president of the Willow Springs Bank, has been a resident of this city and vicinity since 1871. He was born in Greene County, Tennessee, May 9, 1851, and is a son of William M. and Elizabeth (Hogan) Ferguson, both natives of Tennessee. The grandfather, Alexander Ferguson, was a native of Virginia, but at an early date came to Tennessee. Some of the early members of this family served in the Revolutionary War. The father of our subject came … Read more

Biography of John Thomas Pool

JOHN THOMAS POOL. This successful farmer and stock dealer of Howell County, Missouri, owes his nativity to Humphreys County, Tennessee, where he first saw the light in 1833. His parents, Joel and Sarah Ann (Thomas) Pool, were worthy people, and the father died in Humphreys County, Tennessee, before the subject of this sketch was born. When he was about one year old, he was brought by his mother to Howell County, Missouri, after her marriage with Matthew A. McCammon, and in this section the rest of their lives were spent. They died some years after the close of the Civil … Read more

Biography of Hugh K. Chapin

HUGH K. CHAPIN. The primitive occupation of man-farming-has many noble and successful votaries in Howell County, Missouri, but none who deserves more honorable mention than Hugh K. Chapin, who is also quite extensively engaged in stockraising in South Fork Township. He was born in the county in which he now lives September 10, 1852, a son of John A. and Sarah (Kyle) Chapin, and was the eldest of their five sons and two daughters, the other members being Paul Stillman, a farmer of Howell County; John O., also of this county; Hiram, who died at the age of twenty years, … Read more

Biography of T. J. Ferguson

T. J. FERGUSON. Prominent among the early pioneer families of Howell County, Missouri, stands the name of Ferguson. T. J. Ferguson, a prominent farmer of the same, resides four and a half miles west of Willow Springs. He was born in Greene County, Tennessee, August 12, 1849, to the union of William and Elizabeth (Hogan) Ferguson (see sketch of J. A. Ferguson). Our subject received his scholastic training in the schools of Tennessee and those of Howell County, Missouri However, the war put a stop to his schooling, but not until he had obtained a fair education. When twenty-one years … Read more

Biography of John A. Chapin

JOHN A. CHAPIN. The calling of the farmer is the primitive occupation of man, and the majority of those who have followed it have led upright and blameless lives, and the career of John A. Chapin is no exception to this rule. He is a native of Sangamon County, Illinois, where he first saw the light in 1829, a son of Paul Stillman and Sarah (Harrison) Chapin, natives of the Old North State, the birth of the father occurring in 1799. They accompanied their parents to Overton County, Tennessee, and were there married, and afterward lived for about three years … Read more

Biography of Edward Coker

EDWARD COKER. This gentleman is one of the active stockmen of West Plains, Missouri, and an influential and progressive citizen of the same. He is a product of Arkansas, born in what is now Boone County, at Lead Hill, August 30, 1856, to the marriage of William and Margaret (Holt) Coker. The Coker family is probably the oldest in north Arkansas. The mother of our subject was a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of William Holt who moved from Tennessee to Marion County, Arkansas, in the thirties. Mr. Holt was a farmer and a prominent man in his section … Read more

Biography of Capt. Francis Marion Pollock

CAPT. FRANCIS MARION POLLOCK. This well-known farmer, stock trader and mill man, of Mt. View, Missouri, owes his nativity to Limestone County, Ala., where he first saw the light on the 19th of April, 1840. His parents, Francis Asbury and Ann (Wilkinson) Pollock, were also born in Limestone County, Ala., in 1808 and 1810, respectively, were reared and married there, and about 1834 removed to Cooper County, Missouri, where Mr. Pollock was soon after elected sheriff, and died while in office in 1839. He was a very prominent Mason, one of the wealthy farmers of the county, and became prominently … Read more

Biography of Capt. John Halstead

This gentleman is regarded as one of the most influential and worthy citizens of Howell County, and it is a pleasure to here chronicle the events that mark his life as one of usefulness. Capt. John Halstead, whose name was originally spelled with two L’s, was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, October8, 1841. In tracing back the genealogy of this family we find that it originated in England, and that the first immigrants to this country settled on Manhattan Island, where they were among the pioneers. Alabartis Halstead, father of our subject, was born in the Empire State in 1808. … Read more

Biography of Rev. Thomas Wright Carpenter

REV. THOMAS WRIGHT CARPENTER. This earnest and effective worker in the cause of Christianity is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, but is none the less a successful and enterprising farmer of Howell Valley, Howell County, Missouri He was born in Scott County, Missouri, in 1824. A son of Cyrus and Nancy (Davis) Carpenter, natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respectively, but who came to southeast Missouri in 1811, when young, and there experienced the earthquake shock of that period. They married in what is now Scott County, where they spent the rest of their lives, the father dying … Read more

Mahoney, Lucille Nadine Stephens Mrs. – Obituary

Baker County, Oregon Obituaries Huntington, Oregon Lucille Nadine Mahoney, 78, a longtime Huntington resident, died Jan. 20, 2003, at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise. A celebration of her life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. The Rev. Mr. James R. Watt of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral will officiate. Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Private interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Mrs. Mahoney was born Oct. 14, 1924, at West Plains, Mo., to Archie and Flora White Stephens. She was an … Read more

Biography of Hon. Matthias Kenaga

HON. MATTHIAS KENAGA. The occupations to which Mr. Kenaga is devoting his attention are of the utmost importance to any community, and this is especially so in regard to the lumber business, which he is very extensively and successfully carrying on. He was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in 1842, but his parents, Abraham and Christina (Sese) Kenaga, were Pennsylvanians, and were taken to Ohio by their parents when young. The mother of the subject of this sketch died when he was an infant, and his father after-ward married Esther Kore, and in 1850 removed to Whitley County, Indiana, where … Read more

Biography of W. F. Cook

W. F. COOK. In looking over a comparative statement of the institutions of a financial character doing business in Willow Springs, we find them, in comparison with the same class of organizations elsewhere, solvent, prosperous and useful in the highest degree. The Willow Springs Bank adds no little to this, and is one of the best and most substantial of its kind in the county. Mr. W. F. Cook, its well-known cashier, was born in Lewis County, Missouri, February 2, 1868. Son of Dr. J. F. Cook, who is president of La Grange College, at La Grange, a position he … Read more

Biography of M. B. Clarke

M. B. CLARKE. M. B. Clarke, cashier of the West Plains Bank, is one of the capable and practical business men of the place and his name is synonymous for integrity and good judgment. The bank, of which he is the most efficient cashier, was incorporated in 1883 with a capital stock of $15,000, and the officers were: B. F. Olden, president, and Joseph L. Thomas, cashier. The capital stock in 1890 was increased to $50,000 and the present officers elected. In 1889 Mr. M. B. Clarke was elected cashier, and after serving two years again took the position March … Read more

Biography of John Goldsberry

JOHN GOLDSBERRY. The parents of this much esteemed citizen, William H. and Elizabeth (Fouts) Goldsberry, were natives of the Old North State, born in either Davidson or Randolph Counties. In 1836 or 1837 they left their native State and came to Missouri, locating on Gasconade River, in Pulaski County, where they made their home until 1846. From there they moved to Polk County and after living there a short time moved to Hutton Valley, Oregon County, before Howell had become a county. From Hutton Valley they moved to the place where Mountain View now stands, and there the mother died … Read more

Biography of Dr. A. J. Stephens

DR. A. J. STEPHENS. The profession of the physician and surgeon is one that has drawn to it, at all periods of its history, the brightest and most honorable men; for none but an intelligent, well-informed man could be a physician at all, and no physician unless a man of honor, could long retain a profitable practice. Howell County, Missouri, has always been fortunate in its physicians, and it is especially so, during recent years, in its younger generation of practitioners, who have contributed much to the enhancement of the city’s reputation as a center of medical knowledge. Conspicuous among … Read more

Biography of S. W. Wilkinson

S. W. WILKINSON. This prominent general merchant of Willow Springs, Missouri, was born in Alton, Illinois, January 6, 1856, son of Simon and Anna (Lea) Wilkinson, both natives of England. The parents came to the United States about 1850 and settled in the Prairie State, where the father followed farming until his death in 1859. The mother is now living in Missouri. Their family consisted of five children, and our subject is the only one now living. S. W. Wilkinson passed his early life in Missouri, whither his mother had moved before the war, and when he was about thirteen … Read more

Biography of George M. Follett

GEORGE M. FOLLETT. The creditable condition of business life in West Plains, Missouri, is due in a great extent to the enterprise, energy and intelligence of her prominent merchants and manufacturers. Among these may be mentioned the firm of Holt & Follett, manufacturers. George M. Follett was born and reared just outside of the city of New York, his birth occurring February 25, 1852, son of D. B. and Eliza (Mason) Follett. The father was a farmer and resided on the Delaware River. Our subject passed his boyhood and youth on the old home farm and received but limited educational … Read more