Dade County Biographies by Goodspeed

Dade County Biographies by Goodspeed

HISTORY OF HICKORY, POLK, CEDAR, DADE AND BARTON COUNTIES, MISSOURI, 1889; Published by Goodspeed.

Pgs. 833, 834

Col. Jason W. Newell, farmer, of Marion Township, was born in Utica, Oneida County, N. Y., in 1834, and is the son of Rev. Jeffrey and Christina (Traver) Newell, the former born in Stockbridge County, Vt., about 1785, and the latter born on the Hudson River, N. Y., being six years her husband’s junior. They were married in New York, and lived there until 1849, when they removed to Springfield, Ill., and in 1851 to Calumet County, Wis., where Mr. Newell died in 1867. Mrs. Newell died during the war. Mr. Newell was a minister in the Christian Church, and preached the doctrines of that church for over fifty years with great success. He was of English origin, but his people had lived in America for probably 250 years. Col. Jason W. Newell is next to the youngest in a family of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters. He received a good academic education, finishing in Calumet County, Wis., and came West with his parents. When a boy he learned the machinist and engineering trade, which he followed until the breaking out of the war, and was engineer on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad for some time in 1854, he married Miss Lydia I., daughter of William and Lydia Lee, natives of New York and Vermont, respectively. Mrs. Lee died in 1859, and was a member of the Christian Church, and Mr. Lee died at the home of his son-in-law, Col. Newell, in 1872. He was a sailor nearly all his life, was at the battle of Trafalgar, and saw Napoleon while he was crossing the Alps. His father was a native of Ireland, but he knew very little about his parents, as he was kidnapped when six years of age. In August, 1862, Col. Newell enlisted in Company E, Twenty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, was soon made orderly-sergeant, then, in October, was made second lieutenant, and soon after first lieutenant, which position he held until June, 1863, when he resigned on account of sickness and losses. In 1864 he removed to Chicago, where he was employed by the Government to erect barracks, etc. In February and March, 1865, he organized seventeen companies from the Rebel prisoners at Camp Douglas for frontier service. Seven of these companies were mustered into service, and Col. Newell was made Captain of Company A, after which he crossed the plains to Salt Lake City, etc. He was mustered out at that city in May, 1866, on account of disability. He then returned from the West, and since the war has been engaged principally in farming. In 1870 he was elected sheriff of Calumet County, Wis., re-elected in 1872, and served four years, against a Democratic majority of 1, 400. He was the only Republican elected, and received 400 majority. In 1879 he came to Dade County, Mo., where he has since lived, and where he has a good farm of eighty acres. In 1884 Col. Newell was elected to the Legislature, and re-elected in 1886, holding the position with distinction and credit. He was reared a Democrat, his first presidential vote being for James Buchanan in 1856, but since the war he has affiliated with the Republican party. He is a member of Lockwood Post No. 325, G. A. R., was the organizer of the same, and was its first commander. Col. Newell and wife have been members of the Christian Church for twenty-three years, and their two daughters are also members. Their family consists of one son and two daughters. While on the frontier in 1866 he was appointed captain in the United States regimental service, but never reported to the examining board on account of his disability before the board met. His commission as captain of the command on the frontier was one of the very last acts of President Lincoln, being signed by him just the day before his assassination. Col. Newell, as he is familiarly called, is a man of more than ordinary ability and culture. He has spared no pains for the social condition of his family, and has also been active in educational affairs. His eldest child, Perry T., one of Dade County’s well-to-do farmers, is the husband of Miss Sarah Lemon, a native of Missouri, and the father of three children; the second child, Grace, is the wife of W. K. Hulbert, a well-known pioneer of Dade County, and now a hardware merchant of Stockton, Kan.; the third child, Maud, is at home.

Pgs. 834, 835

Joseph A. Patton, who excels in farming and stock-raising, and whose farm is situated in Cedar Township, Dade County, Mo., sixteen miles northwest of the county seat, was born in Tipton county, W. Tenn., September 9, 1837, and is the son of George and Taphenis (Leeper) Patton. George Patton was born in Pennsylvania about 1800, and, when about three years of age, emigrated with his parents to St. Louis County, Mo., resided there a few years, and then emigrated to Franklin County, Mo. He received his education in St. Louis , and afterward went to Texas, where he taught school a number of years. He then married Miss Leeper, who was born in Hawkins County, Tenn., about 1812, and three years after marriage he and wife came to Greene County, Mo., resided there one year, and then moved to Dade County, being among the early settlers of this county. He died in Barton County, Mo., in February, 1845. They suffered all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer days, were obliged to go thirty miles to mill, and wolf scalps, honey and beeswax were articles of trade. They raised their own flax and cotton, and manufactured their own clothing. Their family consisted of six children, five now living. Joseph A. Patton’s entire schooling did not exceed four months, and he remained on his father’s farm until 1850, when he took a trip across the plains to California with his three brothers. He remained there thirteen months, engaged in herding stock and in mining, after which he returned home, and in 1862 enlisted in the Federal Army, Company G, fourteenth Missouri Militia, afterward the Eighth Missouri, and served until the close of the war. He then returned to the old homestead, and lived with his mother until after her death. He now lives on the old farm with his brother, John M., and a sister, Martha E. The farm contains 610 acres, and is well improved. Mr. Patton is a member of the Masonic order, of Washington Lodge at Greenfield. He was a Democrat in politics, but voted for Peter Cooper in 1876; J. B. Weaver, 1880; B. F. Butler, 1884; and A. J. Streeter, 1888.

Pgs. 835, 836

Howard Pierce. Prominent among the enterprising and successful farmers and stock-raisers of Grant Township, Dade County, Mo., stands the name of Mr. Pierce, who was born in Greene County, N. Y., in 1828. His parents, Dr. Eli and Sarah (Burgess) Pierce, were born in Otsego County, N. Y., and Philadelphia, respectively. They were married in New York, and in about 1844 removed to Indiana, where the mother died before the war, and where the father died about 1880. Dr. Pierce was an eminent physician for twenty-five years on the Hudson River, N. Y., but after he removed to Indiana retired from practice. He was at one time president of the New York State Medical Association. Dr. Pierce was of the old Puritan stock, and was of the same family as President Pierce. Howard Pierce, the fourth of five sons and three daughters, received a good education, and studied the languages under a private tutor. He came to Indiana with his parents, and was there married in 1855 to Miss Mary J., daughter of Francis and Rheua E. Mossman, natives of Coshocton County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Mossman removed to Indiana when Mrs. Pierce was a girl, and there they still live. To Mr. and Mrs. Pierce were born ten children, five sons and three daughters now living. In 1857 Mr. Pierce removed to Fond du Lac, Wis., but afterward to Milwaukee, where he was engaged in the grain business there and at Chicago, until 1871, when he came to Dade County, Mo. Here he settled on prairie land near his present residence. In 1879 he settled on his present farm, which consists of 160 acres, all the result of his own industry. In politics he was formerly a Whig, casting his first presidential vote for Gen. Taylor in 1848, but at present he is a stanch Republican. He has been a member of the A. F. & A. M. for thirty years, and he and his wife are members of the old school Presbyterian Church. His grandfather, William Burgess, was born in England, as was also Mrs. Burgess, and died in Otsego County, N. Y. He raised a company, and offered his services in the War of 1812, but was not needed. He was a wealthy and influential farmer.

Pg. 836

William N. Poe, farmer, of Washington Township, and judge of the Dade County Court from the Eastern District, was born in Benton County, Ark., in 1846. His parents were John and Matilda Ann (Ferguson) Poe, he of Dutch Descent, and probably of North Carolina, and she of Tennessee. About 1845 they removed to Benton County, and, when William N. was about nine months old, removed to Dade County, finally settling on a small improvement of the farm where our subject now lives, and where they were burned out in 1862. In February, 1863, Mr. Poe died, at the age of sixty-three, his wife afterward marrying John B. Evans, dying, in 1879, at the age of fifty-two. Both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Poe was married three times, the first two wives living but a short time. He had two children by his second wife. The subject of this sketch is the second of a family of eight children, all the sons and two daughters living. He attended school but very little, and, after the death of his father, the family returned to the farm, on which our subject has since lived. He is now the owner of 140 acres of good farm land. In March, 1869, he married Louisa, daughter of William and Isabelle Cecil, of North Carolina, who came, in 1841, to Johnson County, where the mother died in July, 1888. The father, who served in the Federal army, and who was constable for some years, is still living. William N. has four children: John William, Albert, Arthur and David Lee. In 1888 he was elected county judge by a good majority. He is a Republican, having voted for Grant in 1868, and every Republican candidate since; is a member of South Greenfield Lodge No. 292, I. O. O. F., having served one year as vice-grand. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for nearly twenty years he has served as steward.

Pgs. 836, 837

Isaac Preston, a pioneer of Smith Township, was born in what is now Johnson County, Ky., in 1823. His parents were Isaac and Sarah (Downing) Preston, natives of Virginia, who went to Kentucky early in the present century, and in 1837 came to Missouri, settling in Dade County in 1840 on a small improvement on the west fork of the Limestone, where they spent the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1848, and the mother in 1856. Mr. Preston was a soldier under Gen. Harrison in the War of 1812, and was a well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser, one of ten children, had a very limited education, and remained at home until twenty-three years of age; he worked as an employé till he had a capital of $300 or $400, when he went to Fort Scott, then a Government post, where he engaged for five years in furnishing supplies to the troops, from which he made considerable money. He returned to Dade County, and in 1851 married Susan, daughter of William and Susan Fryer, who came to Dade County from North Carolina about 1841, where they both died. He has a family of two sons and three daughters living. With the exception of about four years during the war, he has lived on his present farm of 360 acres since his marriage. From 1862 till the close of the war he served in the Confederate Army, first in a Texas regiment of cavalry, and afterward with Gen. Joseph Shelby in a Missouri regiment. He is a Democrat, and himself and wife are Cumberland Presbyterians. The children are: Christopher C., William; Nancy V., wife of John Hoshaw, of Lawrence County; Louie B., wife of William R. Kates; and Sallie, wife of Oliver Murry.

Pgs. 837, 838

Cyrenus Z. Russell, county clerk of Dade County, Mo., was born in Peoria County, Ill., in 1840, and is the son of Abner and Samantha (Seward) Russell, and grandson of Abner Russell, who was a native of Massachusetts. Abner Russell, St., moved to Peoria, Ill., in 1836, and there died in 1857. Abner Russell, Jr., was a native of Erie County, N. Y., born in 1815, and was a minister in the Christian Church. He was engaged in his ministerial duties for many years. He moved with his parents to Peoria, Ill., in 1836, and was married in that State to Miss Seward. He is yet living, and resides in Kirksville, where he has resided since 1875. His wife was born in Broome County, N. Y., in 1820, and she too is living. The family consisted of nine children, five of whom are living. Of these children, Cyrenus Z. Russell was the eldest. He received a liberal education in the district schools of Illinois and Missouri, and was reared on a farm. During the late war he was a strong Union man, and, June 18, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-first Regiment Missouri Infantry; fought at Athens, Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Battle of Corinth, Tupelo, and was in many skirmishes. He entered as a private, and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. After being commissioned he was on staff duty, and was mustered out and discharged at St. Louis in February, 1865. After the war, or in 1866, he located in Marshall County, Ill., at Henry, and began a hardware and implement business, which he continued for some time. Previous to this, in 1865, he attended commercial college (Bryant and Stratton’s) in St. Louis, and, in January, 1870, he went to Fort Scott, Kan., where he resumed the same line of business commenced in 1866. The firm of which he was a member was J. Russell & Co., J. Russell being our subject’s uncle. He was first a clerk for his uncle, and afterward became partner. He remained at Fort Scott until January, 1874, when he became a citizen of Dade County, Mo., location on a farm in Grant Township. In the fall of 1886 he was elected clerk of the county court of Dade County, by a good majority, and held this position for a period of four years. In December, 1867 he married Miss Ala Ann Teagarden, who was born in Kentucky, and who bore him five children: Charles E., who was named after Col. Ellsworth, of Chicago, Ill.; John A., William O., and Leulah and Beulah, twins. In politics Mr. Russell is a Republican, casting his first presidential vote for Lincoln in 1864. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Lockwood Lodge, and is also a member of Post No. 75, G. A. R., at Greenfield. He and wife are members of the Christian Church.

Pgs. 838, 839

Judge Frederick Schnelle, associate judge of Dade County Court from the Western District, was elected in November, 1888. He is a successful farmer and stock-raiser of Grant Township, and was born in Prussia in 1836. His parents, Henry and Mary (Linback) Schnelle, were natives of Prussia, the father born in 1808, and the mother in about 1811. They were married in their native country, and in 1852 came to the United States, settling in New York, and there remained until 1854, when they moved to Mason County Ill. Here the mother died in 1855. Mr. Schnelle afterward married Mrs. Henrietta Linback, sister to his first wife. She died in 1882, and two years later Mr. Schnelle came, with his son, Frederick Schnelle, to Dade County, where he died July 3, 1887. He was a farmer by occupation. He served three years in the Prussian army. His father, Carl Schnelle, spent all his life in Prussia, and was a well-to-do farmer. Judge Frederick Schnelle was the second of three sons and five daughters, two sons and one daughter now living. He attended the common schools in his native country until fourteen years of age, after which he came, with his parents, to the United States, and attended school for two months in New York, obtaining a fair knowledge of the English language. He went with his parents to Illinois, and in 1861 was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Behrens, a native of Prussia, where her parents died with she was quite young. She came to the United States with friends in 1859. By her marriage to Mr. Schnelle she became the mother of twelve children, five sons and five daughters now living, all of whom were educated in the English and German languages. Judge Schnelle resided in Mason County, Ill., until 1884, when he came to Dade County, Mo., and has since lived on his present farm, which consists of 296 acres, situated six miles southwest of Lockwood, all the result of his own hard labor. He is engaged in farming and stock-raising, his stock being short-horned cattle and Poland China hogs. For seven years he was township collector of Mason County, Ill. He is a stanch Democrat, and, although Dade County is largely republican, he was elected to the judgeship by a majority of fifty-one votes. No further test is necessary as a proof of his popularity and ability, he being the only Democrat elected to a county office in Dade County. He cast his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas, in 1860. He and family belong to the Lutheran Church, and he is one of the leading citizens of the county.

Pg. 839

James R. Scott, a prominent agriculturist of Center Township, residing four miles northeast of Greenfield, was born in Dade County, Mo., in 1847, and is the son of Emerson C. and Amanda (Tucker) Scott. Richard Scott, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Kentucky, and died in Dade County, Mo., in 1858, at the age of seventy-five years. Emerson C. Scott came to Missouri at the age of twenty-two years, and was married in 1845 to Miss Tucker. He pre-empted 300 acres in Section 3, Township 26, Range 26, where he located, and where he passed his life. He was killed, after night, in his own house, in June, 1863, tow men committing the dastardly deed. Amanda (Tucker) Scott was born in Middle Tennessee, December10, 1822, and is the daughter of James and Catherine tucker, who were residents of Dade County, Mo., in Center Township. Mrs. Scott is still living, and is the mother of eight children: Narcissa C., born in 1846, the wife of J. J. Winkle; James R., Alexander Hamilton, Albert H., William E., Oliver P., Sterling Price and Emerson Co. James R., the eldest son, was reared and grew to manhood on a farm. In 1873 he married Miss Sarah C. Studdard, a native of McMinn County, Tenn., born in 1853, and the daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Harleson) Studdard, of Dade County, Mo., the former born in 1793, and the mother in 1812, in North Carolina. They died in 1857 and 1882, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are the parents of one child, William E. Scott. Mr. Scott resides on a portion of the old homestead, and is the owner of ninety-three acres. He is a Democrat politically, casting his first presidential vote for Seymour in 1868. He is a member of the Masonic Order, Washington Lodge, at Greenfield. He and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and his mother is also a member of the same church.

Pg. 839, 840

J. C. Shouse, another wide-awake, thorough-going farmer and stock-raiser of Morgan Township, residing six miles northwest of Dadeville, is a native of Shelby county, Ky., born November 3, 1834. His parents William O. and Harriet (Bryan) Shouse, were natives of Kentucky, born in 1812 and 1814, respectively. The father was of German descent, and at an early age emigrated from his native State to Jackson County, Mo., in 1837, being one of the early settlers of that county. He is now living in Kansas City, where he has made his home for twenty-five years, and where in about 1863, he invested in city property. He is now the owner of $150,000 in that city. To this marriage were born three children, J. C. Shouse being the eldest. The latter remained in Jackson County, Mo., from 1837 to 1880, and received his education in the common country schools. In 1857 he married Miss Mary Ann Campbell, who was born in Kentucky in 1834, and who died in Jackson County, Mo, in 1874. To this union were born twelve children, all living: William; Eva, wife of John B. Clark; Nannie; Ettie, wife of John Todd; Harry, Charley, Mary, Mattie, John C., Carrie, Edward and Benjamin. In 1875 Mr. Shouse married Mrs. Niece, who was born in North Carolina in 1846, and is the daughter of Henry and Mrs. Muller, both now deceased. By his last marriage Mr. Shouse became the father of five children, all living: Mattie, John C., Carrie, Edward and Benjamin. Mr. Shouse located on his present place of residence in 1882. He has 347 acres of land, with about 200 acres under cultivation, has good buildings on the same, and is one of the county’s substantial farmers. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Dadeville. (think there is a mistake, concerning the number of children, I typed it as I found it)

Pgs. 840, 841

John D. Smith, produce dealer, and express agent of Lockwood since the express office was opened in 1881, was born in Henry County, Tenn., in 1851, and is the son of John W. and Elizabeth (Haynes) Smith. John W. Smith was born in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in 1811, and his wife was born in Robertson County, of the same State, in 1809. They were married in Henry County, and with the exception of a few years in Carroll County, Tenn., spent the remainder of their lives in Henry County. The mother died in September, 1868, and the father in October of the same year. Mr. Smith was justice of the peace for eighteen years in Henry County, Tenn., and was constable for a number of years in Carroll County. John D. Smith is the youngest of three sons and three daughters. He received a liberal education in the common schools, and after the death of his father began farming for himself. In 1870 he went to Weakley County, where he was married, in 1872, to Miss Nicie E., daughter of James O. and Mahala Walters, natives of Carroll and Weakley Counties, respectively. Mr. Walters died in the last named county, in 1881, but Mrs. Walters is still living there. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born six children. In 1881 Mr. Smith came to Lockwood, where he has since been engaged in his present business. He is a good business man and a prominent citizen. He is a Democrat in politics, and his first vote was for Horace Greeley in 1872. He has a good home in Lockwood. He and Mrs. Smith have been members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for many years.

Pg. 841

Fergus C. Snoddy, stock-raiser and farmer, of Rock Prairie Township, was born in Clay County, Ind., in 1847, the son of Josiah and Margaret (Clough) Snoddy, born in Kentucky, in 1801, and Virginia, in 1809, respectively. The parents, in an early day, settled in Clay County, Ind., where the father died in 1848 or 1849; the mother is still living in Greene County, Mo. The subject of this sketch, the youngest of seven children, attended the country schools about nine months, and, when fifteen years of age, joined Company D, One Hundred and Fifteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was for six months in the Army of the Cumberland. After the close of the war he joined Company G, Eighteenth United States Infantry, and served three years on the Western frontier, having been with Gen. Carrington’s expedition against the Sioux Indians, as soldier and teamster, and traveling over Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and nearly all the rocky Mountain country, experiencing many hardships. Coming to Dade County in 1869, in 1872 he married Martha, daughter of William B. and Nancy Landers, a native of Dade County, where her parents have lived for many years, her father having been in the Federal Army, and having served as justice of the peace for some years. They have six children, four sons and two daughters. He has lived on his farm of 312 acres about nine years. When a young man he learned the harness trade, which he followed for five years, at Dadeville, just before removing to the farm. In politics he is a Republican, is a member of Everton Lodge No. 405, A. F. & A. M., and of Everton Post No. 369, G. A. R. Mrs. Snoddy is a Cumberland Presbyterian. Mr. Snoddy spares no pains to educate his children, and is a successful farmer and stock-raiser.

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