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HISTORY
OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI Biographical Appendix |
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Ahira J. Beardsley
Ahira J. Beardsley, sone of James and Rachel Beardsley,
was born in Hannibal, Oswego Co., N.Y., in 1832. He had one
brother, Jerome Beardsley, who died in 1862. James Beardsley, father
of our subject, was a farmer and carpenter by occupation. He
died in New York at the age of seventy-eight. Ahira Beardsley
immigrated to Illinois in 1853, where he followed photography, with
good success, but after a year or so he went Decorah, Iowa, where, for
some time, he kept a hotel and speculated in land. While at
times he was very successful, at other times things did not go
altogether to suit him, so at last he removed to St. Louis, and soon
sent for his mother to come and make her home with him. She died at
the age of seventy-eight. Mr. Beardsley finally engaged in
business at Victoria, Mo., where he kept a railroad eating house, in
partnership with Mr. T. Espy. About a year later he went to
Ironton and here became proprietor of another hotel, which he
continued one season, after which he went to Olney, Ill. Here he
again engaged in the hotel business, but growing weary of this he
removed to Terre Haute, Ind., and after another season returned to St.
Louis, where with another party, for another season, he fed all the
odds and ends of regiments that came to the city. He then left
this place and went to Warrenton, Mo., where he again kept a railroad
eating house for two years, and where he was made railroad brigadier
quartermaster for a couple of years, and where he was made railroad
brigadier quartermaster for a couple of years. During that time
he went to Helena, Ark., and joined the First Arkansas Mounted
Rangers, accepting the lieutenancy as recruiting officer to St. Louis
for that regiment. He went back to his home, at Warrenton, Mo.,
and the following season returned to St. Louis and kept a hotel.
At that time (1866) the cholera was raging there, and he lost his
wife, whom he had married when he was but twenty-one years of age, in
New York State. This was a very severe blow to him, and for many
years he mourned the death of his beloved companion. Mr.
Beardsley then went into partnership I the real estate business with
Daniel Dillon, who is at present judge of one of the circuit courts of
that city. Mr. Beardsley finally left St. Louis and went to Mine
La Motte, where for fifteen years he acted as superintendent of real
estate. While there he married the widow of Prof. C. Y. Mason,
of Libertyville, and with her lived happily for seven years, when he
was again left a widower. After a time he began to look around
for some one else to share his home and this one he founding the
daughter of L. T. Cosby, of Spanish descent. Mr. Beardsley had
known her as a little girl of six, when he was keeping the hotel of
Victoria. In the meantime she had grown up and married Col. A.
M. Tyler, of Binghamton, N. Y., and had been left a widow with one
little boy, Bertie. Ahira J. Beardsley and Mrs. Emma Tyler were
married in De Soto, Mo., in 1882. Tow years after they lost
their little boy, Bertie. About this time Mr. Beardsley became a
stockholder in the first roller mill in Southeast Missouri, they being
located in Marquand, Mo. Three years later he commenced their
supervision, and is now sole proprietor. He was executive
Democratic committeeman for eight years and Congressional committeeman
two years, and was delegate to the judicial and congressional
convention at two different times, and chairman of the county
convention. It is seldom one finds a man who has changed his
place of business and occupation as Mr. Beardsley has done, yet these
changes have been a school to him, the advantages of which he has
taken care to improve. The supplications made to him by men
aspiring to political positions in the State are sufficient evidence
that he is one of the influential Democrats of Southeast Missouri.
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