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


Pgs. 755, 756

         Thomas J. McFarland, farmer and stock-dealer, of Box Township, Cedar County, Mo., was born in Benton County, Mo., in 1849, and is one of the wide-awake, thorough-going citizens of that township.  He is the son of James and Netitia (Nave) McFarland, and the grandson of Rev. Alexander McFarland, who was born in Kentucky, but who came to Boonville, Mo., at a very early day, and there remained for many years. He then moved to Cass County, where he died before the war.  He was a successful minister in the Presbyterian Church, and followed this calling nearly all his life.  He was of Scotch-Irish descent.  The maternal grandfather, Hardin Nave, who died when Mrs. McFarland was quite young, was an early settler of Missouri.  James McFarland was born in Cooper County, Mo., in 1822, and his wife was probably born in Tennessee, but came to Morgan County, Mo., with her parents when quite young.  They were married in Benton county in about 1848, lived there for some seven years, and then removed to Cass County, in 1863 to Henry County, and, in 1865, came to Cedar County, where Mrs. McFarland died in 1876.  Two years later Mr. McFarland followed her to the grave.  Both were members of the Methodist Church for many years, and he was a farmer by occupation.  Thomas J. McFarland, the eldest of four sons and four daughters, assisted his father in the arduous duties on the farm, and received a limited education.  At the age of fourteen years, Thomas J. McFarland was oblige to support the family, owing to the fact that his father was paralyzed, and he took care of the family until his majority.  He removed with his parents to Cedar County, and was married, in 1874 to Miss Mollie Pruet, a native of Knox County, Mo., and the daughter of John C. and Elizabeth Pruet.  Mr. and Mrs. McFarland are the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter.  Mr. McFarland rented land for two years, after which he purchased his present farm, which consists of 235 acres.  He is one of the leading farmers in the county.  He was elected sheriff of Cedar County, Mo., in 1882, was re-elected in 1884, and served four years with credit and satisfaction.  He is a Democrat in politics, voting for S. J. Tilden in 1876; is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Clintonville Lodge, No. 482, at El Dorado, and of the Chapter of Stockton; has held all elective offices, and is at present master.  He is also a member of the Odd Fellows, the knights of Pythias, and the Farmers’ Alliance.  He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.  Mrs. McFarland’s father was born in St. Louis County, Mo., I 1831, was married there in 1851, and in 1852 removed to Knox County, where he served in Company I, First Missouri Cavalry, Second Division, Confederate Army, as a courier two years.  In 1865 he came to Cedar County, Mo., and is one of the prominent farmers of Box Township.  His father, John Pruet, was also a native of St. Louis County, born in 1808, and died in Scotland County in 1874 or 1875, where he had lived since 1849.  His father, Samuel Pruet, was a Frenchman, and one of the first settlers of St. Louis, where he died.  He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.  Mrs. McFarland’s mother was born in England, and came, with her parents, to St. Louis when about five years of age.  Her parents, William and Joanna Atherly, were natives of Devonshire, England.  Mr. Atherly died in St. Louis in 1849, of cholera, and Mrs. Atherly died in Cedar County in 1884.


Pg. 756, 757

            Christopher Hannibal Mace, a retired merchant of Stockton, Mo., was born in Scott County, VA., in 1835, and made his home with his parents, Stephen and Rebecca (Murry) Mace, until he was thirteen years of age, at which time he went to Floyd County, Ky., and, as a means of obtaining a livelihood, engaged in school teaching, continuing this occupation two years.  In 1856 he came to Polk County, Mo., where he followed the same calling three terms, and in 1859 returned to Kentucky, and taught one more term.  He then taught school in Fannin County, Texas, from 1860 to 1863, then came north to Arkansas, with forty-one men, and enlisted in Company K, Fourteenth Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, U.S.A., and was in several fights and many skirmishes.  He was discharged at Pine Bluff, Ark., and went to Illinois, but spent the winter of 1865-66 in Texas, coming in the summer of the latter year to Cedar County, Mo., where he again engaged in teaching.  In 1868 he began merchandising in Stockton, and continued this occupation very successfully until 1884, and has since lived a quiet life, and looked after his real estate, which consists of about a section of land.  In 1881 he took a pleasure trip to the Pacific coast, starting from home April 14, and reaching that State July 4, in company with thirteen men.  They journeyed slowly, and spent their time in hunting and fishing along the route.  Mr. Mace was gone about six months, and spent a very enjoyable time.  In 1870 he was married to Miss Martha J. Davis, a daughter of L. B. Davis.  She was born in Cedar County, Mo., in 1849, and died in 1877, having borne two children: Cathleen and Claudius E.  September 30, 1885, he married his present wife, Nancy Ward, who was born in Johnson County, Mo., in 1851.  Mr. Mace is a stanch Republican in politics.


Pgs. 757, 758

            Dr. Isaac F. Marquis, whose success as a physician and surgeon has made his name well known throughout Cedar and adjoining counties, was born in Darke County, Ohio, December 22, 1849, and is the son of George W. and Elizabeth (Miller) Marquis.  George W. Marquis was born in Virginia, but when quite small went with his parents of Ohio, where he grew to manhood, and where he was twice married, his second wife being Miss Miller, mother to the subject of this sketch.  In about 1858 George Marquis moved to Cedar County, Mo., where he is now living with his third wife.  He is a successful tiller of the soil.  His father, William Kidd Marquis, was a native of Virginia, and of French extraction.  He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and an early settler of Ohio, where he died about thirty years ago.  Dr. Marquis, the elder of two children, received a fair education in the common schools, and began for himself in 1868, as a farm hand in St. Clair County.  In about 1872 he began practicing medicine, having studied with a cousin, Dr. A. C. Marquis.  He practice with success until 1884-85, and then attended the American Medical College at St. Louis, from which institution he graduated in the same year.  He first commenced practicing at Osceola, was then in Bates County, after that was five years at Roscoe, and since 1890 he has resided on his present farm near Cedar Springs, where he has 200 acres of good land.  He settled on the farm with the intention of retiring from practice, but has found it impossible to do.  He was married, in 1874, to Miss Marila Marquis, a native of Jay County, Ind., and the daughter of Dr. James and Mary Marquis, natives of Virginia.  Her parents lived in Jay County, Ind., but came to Missouri soon after the war, and here the father practiced his profession successfully for some time.   To Dr. Isaac F. Marquis and wife were born four children, one son and two daughters now living.  The Doctor was a Republican in politics until 1876, since which time he has been a Greenbacker and Prohibitionist.  His first presidential vote was cast for Gen. Grant, in 1872.  He is a member of the Good Templars, and is also a member of the Farmers’ Alliance.  Mrs. Marquis is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in good standing.


Pg. 758

            Isaac J. Martin may be classed among the many successful farmers of Cedar County, for he is the owner of 280 acres of fertile land about four and a half-miles southeast of the county seat, of which 175 are under cultivation.  He was born in Overton County, Tenn., April 21, 1852, and is the third of nine children, eight living, born to the marriage of Obadiah Martin and Anna Johnson, who were also Tennesseeans, born in 1807 and 1821, respectively.  The father was of Irish-Welsh descent, a farmer by occupation and for a number of years was justice of the peace and held the office of surveyor of Overton County, Tenn., in which State he died in 1873.  His parents, Mynad and Betty Martin, also died in that State.  The boyhood days of Isaac J. Martin were spent in tilling the soil and attending the common schools, and in 1878 he was married in Cedar County to Miss Lucretia Allen, a native of that county, and a daughter of William R. Allen, whose sketch appears in this volume.  Mr. Martin cast his first vote for U.S. Grant for the presidency, but is now a member of the Union Labor party.  He and wife are members of the Christian Church.


Page, 758

Morris W. Mitchell, a retired farmer of Jerico Springs, Mo., is a native of Blount County, Tenn., born July 1, 1821, his parents being Jesse Mitchell and Providence (Norwood). The father was born in Virginia, March 8, 1796, and in early boyhood became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and afterward became an ordained minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Polk County, MO, where he arrived June 11, 1836. He was among the early settlers of the county, and died in 1854, having charge of the Stockton circuit at the time of his death. His father, Morris Mitchell, was also a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and came to Polk County, Mo., in 1835, where and wife spent their declining years. Providence (Norwood) Mitchell was born in Tennessee, in 1800, and died in Polk Co., Mo.about 1884, having been a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for many years. Their union resulted in the birth of fourteen children, eight of whom are now living. Morris W. Mitchell is the second of the family, and, after residing with his parents until twenty-seven years of age, in 1846 he enlisted in Company H. Willick's Battery, to serve in the Mexican War. After his return to Polk County, Mo., the 28th of September, 1848, he married Miss Mary Jane Lindley, who was born in Kentucky, July 5, 1831. Her parents, John and Mary Lindley, came to Missouri two years after her birth, and here the father was shot, in 1863, while sowing wheat. Mr. Mitchell and wife are the parents of four children: James L.; Mary E., wife of F. A. Brasher; W. F., and Laura L.; wife of Dr. J. P. Brasher. In 1850 Mr. Mitchell started for the gold fields of California, with an ox-team, and reached his journey's end at the end of four months and ten days. After being engaged in mining in that State for two years, he returned to his family in Missouri, and here he has ever since made his home. He owns 600 acres of land near Jerico Springs, but since 1884 has given up farm work. He is an influential citizen, well-to-do, and is a stockholder in the Jerico Bank. He is a Democrat in politics, and has held the following offices; County Sheriff, ex-officio collector of the county, county assessor two years, and census taker one year. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1860, and since ten years of age has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which his wife is also a member. During the Civil War he was captain of a company in the Confederate army for three years.


Pg. 759

            James L. Mitchell, a prominent druggist of Stockton, Mo., was born in Cedar County, in which he now resides, in 1849, being a son of Morris W. Mitchell, whose sketch appears in this work.  James L. received the rudiments of his education in the common schools of the county, and later entered the High School of Stockton, and then spent one year in the State University at Columbia.  From 1872 to 1873 he as engaged in clerking in a drug store in Stockton, and then went to Fannin County, Texas, and was occupied in teaching the young idea for one year, then returned to Missouri, and followed the same occupation for six months, after which he resumed clerking in a drug store.  In 1876 he became a partner with C. H. Mace, and continued for five years, the firm name being Mace & Mitchell, and then Mr. Mace sold his interest to R. A. Brown.  In 1886 Mr. Mitchell became sole proprietor of the stock, and is the oldest druggist in Stockton.  He is a Democrat, and has always taken a deep interest in politics, and has been a member and secretary of the Senatorial Democratic Committee for years.  He is a member of Lodge No. 285, A. F. & A. M., and is a charter member of the K. of P.  In 1876 he was married to Miss Jennie M. Church, a daughter of Jackson and Mary A. Church.  She was born in Stockton, Mo., March 23, 1859, and she and Mr. Mitchell are the parents of two children: Clarence and Myrtle Jane.  Mrs. Mitchell is a member of the Christian Church.


Pgs. 759, 760

            Alexander C. Montgomery.  In giving a brief sketch of this successful farmer of Cedar County, Mo., it is but just to say that he has proved himself honest and industrious, and has won the good will and respect of all who know him. He was born on the 2d of May, 1837, in Roane County, Tenn., and is the third of thirteen children born to the union of William Montgomery and Elizabeth Mitchell, who were born in Tennessee in 1811 and 1813, and died in Cedar County, Mo., in June, 1887, and January 11, 1888, respectively, to which county they had moved from their native State in 1841.  Mr. Montgomery was one of five men who selected and donated the land for the present county seat.  He served as sheriff of Cedar County for about four years, and as assessor two years.  His father, John Montgomery, was a Virginian, and died in Tennessee.  The maternal grandparents, James and Sarah Mitchell, were among the first settlers of Polk County.  Alexander C. Montgomery attended the early subscription schools in his youth, and resided with his parents until he attained his majority.  In 1859 he married Miss Julia Noffsinger, who was born in Botetourt County, VA., in 1835 (for parents’ history see sketch of Judge N. S. Noffsinger), and by her became the father of seven children, four now living: Mary E., wife of Isaac Baton; Ella J., George T. and John William.  In 1862 Mr. Montgomery enlisted in Company A, Fifteenth Missouri Cavalry, U.S.A., and served until July 1, 1865, and was in a number of engagements.  At the close of the war he returned to Cedar County, and took charge of a grist-mill, in which he purchased an interest about the beginning of the war, and this he successfully managed until it was destroyed by fire in 1872.  Since that time he has given his attention to agricultural pursuits, and owns over 400 acres of valuable land, besides owning an interest in the Montgomery & Brown ferry-boat.  He is a Democrat in politics, has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1868, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.  He has nine brothers, and seven besides himself are Free Masons, belonging to the Chapter.  Five have been Master Masons, two High Priests, and four have taken the Knight Templar degree.  Three of his brothers-in-law are also Masons.


Pgs. 760, 761

            Thomas R. Montgomery is the owner of a fine farm situated two miles west of Cane Hill, his acreage amounting to 580 acres, 350 of which are under good cultivation.  He is the sixth of ten children, and was born in Cedar County, Mo., on the 22d of December, 1850, his parents being John W. and Elizabeth (Jackson) Montgomery, who were born in Roane County, Tenn., October 2, 1816, and September 13, 1824, respectively.  In 1840 Mr. Montgomery came to Cedar County, Mo., where he was engaged in farming and resided until his death, on the 11the of September 1861.  His widow is still living, and resides with her son, Thomas R.  The latter spent his youth on the farm and in attending the common schools, and in 1874 was married to Miss Elvira Alder, who was born in Christian County, Ky., in 1852, by whom he has ten children, four living: Thomas Claude, Willie May, Mertie P. and Kyle J.  Mr. Montgomery has always supported the measures of the Democratic party, and he and wife are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.  Mrs. Montgomery’s parents, James and Sarah (Pyle) Alder, were born in Virginia and Kentucky in 1806 and 1815, and died in Kentucky, and Cedar County, Mo., in 1858 and 1884, respectively.  George and Millie Alder were the grandparents.


Pg. 761

            W. W. Moore, attorney-at-law and notary public of Jerico Springs, is a native of Kentucky, born on the 5th of July, 1841, being the son of a successful Kentucky farmer—Michael Moore.  The latter’s birth occurred in Floyd County, Ky., April 3, 1815, and he died there on the 3d of April, 1888, being a son of Christopher Moore, who was born in Alleghany County, Penn., and died in Kentucky in 1860, at a very advanced age.  His wife was a Kentuckian, who died in 1859.  Diana (Enex) Moore, the mother of our immediate subject, was born in Morgan County, Ky., March 3, 1815, and is yet living in her native State.  W. W. Moore is the third of nine children, and until twenty-four years of age resided under the paternal roof.  On the 22d of February, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Sophia McDonald, who was born in Fayette County, Ohio, June 14, 1846, a daughter of Stephen and Priscilla McDonald, who lived and died in the “Buckeye State,” and by her became the father of seven children, five of whom are living at the present time: Binaro O., Levi V., John C. B., Angelia D. and Thomas F. A.  In 1883 Mr. Moore and family moved to Barton County, Tenn., where he resided three years, and then moved to Jerico Springs, where he is now living.  He began the study of law in 1874, and September 21, 1876, was admitted to the bar at Vanceburg, Ky., and practiced there in the criminal courts, being admitted to practice in the civil courts in November, 1881.  Having received a good education in his boyhood, he became a successful teacher, which occupation he followed from 1869 to 1879, with the exception of the time spent in the army.  In 1861 he enlisted in Company F, Second Regiment of Virginia Infantry, C. S. A., and served as lieutenant-colonel all through the war, being a participant in many battles in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and being wounded five times.  He held the office of justice of the peace while in Kentucky, and is holding the same office where he now is.  He is a Democrat politically, and his first presidential vote was cast for George B. McClellan.  He is a Mason, and is a consistent member of the Christian Church, his wife being a member of the Baptist Church.  Nicholas Moore, the great-grandfather, was born in Ireland, and previous to the Revolution came to the United States, and served in the Continental army for five years.  He died about 1848, Nicholas County, Ky., being named in his honor.


Biography Index Page

  Back To Main Page

© Copyright 2000--Present; All Rights Reserved. Kay Griffin Snow