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“HISTORY
OF SALINE COUNTY MISSOURI”
Biographies by township
Blackwater
Township
pages
pp 581-585
A. H. Hanley, P. O., Longwood.
One of the early settlers of the southern portion of this county;
was born in what is now West Virginia, March 8, 1819, where he
was raised, and educated in the country schools then in vogue. He
came to Missouri in 1840, in company with Mr. C. G. Clark, and
settled in this county (both of them) in the vicinity of his
present residence. When he started from Virginia he had only
$37,371/2 in cash, and when he landed in Saline, he had just $12
in money, and a moon-eyed pony with which to make his fortune.
Soon after reaching here, he was employed in building a bridge
over Blackwater, at the Sheridan ford, at fifty cents per day. He
worked 148 days, and was thus enabled to get forty acres of land,
part of the tract now owned by Mr. J. Q. Bellwood. He now owns a
fine farm of 340 acres of land, well improved, a fine two story
house, etc. He borrowed the oxen with which he first plowed his
prairie; but the farmers in those times were much more liberal
and accommodating than they are at the present day – so Mr.
Hanley says, at any rate. His property, which is considerable, is
the result of his own energy and perseverance, except, perhaps,
one thousand dollars. When Messrs. Hanley and Clark started to Missouri,
they made their way to Kanawa in wagons, and by laying in their
own provisions, made a contract with a boat, by which they
reached Cincinnati for six dollars, and from Cincinnati to St.
Louis for twenty dollars. Mr. Hanley was married three times, his
last wife being Miss Pheobe E. Claycombe of this county, He is
the father of eleven children, eight of them, May E., John C.,
Virgy, James M., Lillie B., George W., Robert Lee, and Deal, now
living. In 1857, he purchased and moved to his present farm, and
has proved himself a success. Page 581
Samuel R. Cockrell was born
in Cooper county, Missouri, December 2, 1850, and came with his
parents to Saline county in 1856. He was educated at Westminster College,
Fulton, Missouri. In 1870, Mr. Cockrell settles upon his farm in
Saline, and commenced the business of farming, and is a young man
of steady habits and good business qualifications, making a
successful farmer and stock-raiser. After the death of Mr. R. V.
Harvey, Mr. Cockrell purchased his farm, and there, with a young
and charming wife, to whom he was married in September, 1880, and
surrounded by all the comforts of life, he has a happy future
before him. Page 581
F. M. Stotts. The subject
of this sketch was born in Pettis county, Missouri, April 3, 1851,
and received his education at the college at Georgetown, Missouri.
In the year 1875, he quit farming, and engaged in merchandising
at Ridge Prairie. On the 12th of June, 1876. Mr.
Stotts was married to Miss Mary Swank, of Mississippi county, Missouri.
He has made merchandising a success, and as he has purchased
property and built a large store-room in the village, he may now
be considered permanently settled, and his urbanity and strict
attention to business, has won for him the respect and
patronage of the people. Page 581-582
Richard W. Nicolds was born
in Howard county, Missouri, in 1831, and hence is now fifty years
of age. He was raised in Howard county, and educated at the old
Howard high school in Fayette. In 1857 he was married to Miss
Sallie A. Hurt of Saline county, and moved to Saline at the close
of the war, in 1865. Mr. Nicolds was present at the first
Booneville fight, having joined the state guard, under Price. In
December, 1861, he was captured with Frank Robertson’s
regiment, at Blackwater, and sent first to McDowell’s
College, St. Louis, and then to the Alton, Illinois, prison. He
was a prisoner nine months, and then exchanged at Vicksburg. He
then rejoined the Confederate army, and surrendered at the close
of the war, at Shreveport, Louisiana. Since the war Mr. Nicolds
has resided in Saline county, and has taken an active part in the
politics of the county. Page 582
Richard Marsahll, pioneer,
was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, in the year 1790, and was
one of the pioneers of Saline county. At the early age of
eighteen, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Rhoades, of Virginia,
and in the fall of 1822, he immigrated to Missouri, landing in
Howard county, on Christmas day of that year. In the spring of
1823, he lost his wife, by whom he had had seven children, only
two of whom are now living. In the summer of 1824, he married
Miss Jane Gwin, by whom he had eight children, only three of whom
are now living: Joseph, James M. and Mrs. Mary J. Thorp. In the
year 1825, Mr. Marshall entered land in Saline county, upon which
he settled during the succeeding year, and upon which he remained
until his death, which occurred at his residence, March 26, 1872.
Mr. Marshall came to this county, in moderate circumstances, but
he became a large and successful farmer and stock raiser, and
died one of the wealthy men of Saline county. Mr. Marshall was an
honest man, and stood high for his honor and integrity, wherever
known. Page 582
Joseph Marshall, the
subject of this sketch, is a native of Saline county, and was
born on the 20th of March, 1827, and was educated in
the common schools of the neighborhood. When only about twenty
years old, he volunteered in the Mexican war, and belonged
to Captain Reed’s Saline county company, under Doniphan, and
served in his famous expedition to Chihuahua, and was present at
the battles of the Bracito and Sacramento. In 1849, Mr. Marshall
started to California, but his health became so bad, he had to
return home. The next year, however, went to California, and
remained there, engaged in mining, until 1853, when he returned
home to Saline. In the fall of that same year, Mr. Marshall was
married to Miss May Porter, and in March, 1854, he moved to his
present residence. Of this marriage, Mr. Marshall had two
children, one of whom, R. A. Marshall resides on a farm in Pettis
county. His wife dying in 1855, in 1856, Mr. Marshall married
Miss Lizzy M. Lynch, by whom he has had nine children, four boys
and five girls, all of whom are living. Mr. Marshall owns 800
acres of fine land, and is a successful farmer and stock dealer.
Page 582-583
Reuben V. Harvey, deceased.
Was born in Orange county, Virginia, March 23, 1811, and moved to
Saline county, Missouri, in 1823. In 1825 or 1826 he built the
first store at Ridge Prairie, and sold goods there for a number
of years, running the store in connection with his farm. Besides
carrying on his extensive farm, he was a large trader in all
kinds of country produce, and dealer in cattle, mules and hogs.
In 1856 he was married to his third wife, Margaret Cockrell. Was
a member of the M. E. Church, South, having joined many years
ago, under the ministry of Dr. Boyle, and up to the time of his
death, which occurred January 18, 1877, he was a most useful,
active and public-spirited citizen. In him society lost a genial
member, and his associates a warm, true friend. He was ever
ready, both with advice and means, to aid the young and
struggling, and his death was greatly deplored. Page 583
Stephen Dial, is a native
of Missouri, having been born in Cooper county in 1832. He
emigrated to California in 1852, where he remained for three
years, and then returned to Cooper county. On the 19th
of August, 1855, he was married to his cousin, Miss Dial. In the
fall of the same year he moved to Texas, and remained there for a
number of years, In the spring of 1862 he enlisted in the
Confederate army, orderly sergeant, Co. G., Stone’s
regiment, Texas cavalry, and was under E. Kirby Smith in the
campaigns against Banks and Steele, at the battle of Mansfield
and others too numerous to mention. In 1866 he left Texas and
settled at his present home in Saline county, Missouri. Mr. Dial
is the father of five children, only two of whom, S. H. and
Stephen P., are now living. He is a good farmer and a hospitable,
clever gentleman. Page 583
O. D. Finley, was born in
Boone county, Missouri, January 20, 1827, and there grew to
manhood, and was educated in the schools of the country. In 1849,
at the age of twenty-two, he moved with his father to Saline
county, and settled in the immediate neighborhood of his present
residence. On the 2d December, 1851, he was married to Miss
Sallie Stoneman, by whom he had six children, of whom John,
Robert H., William O., and Lewis M. are now living. Robert is a
graduate of the Missouri Medical College, and is married. Mr.
Finley has been a successful farmer, and has been a justice of
the peace for Blackwater township for a number of years, as he is
at present. Page 583
John Zeigel, P. O., Herndon. Was
born in Jefferson county, New York, in 1841, and came to Missouri
in 1854 with his parents, and settled in Cooper county, on the
Lamine river, where he lived about twelve years. He then married
Miss Louisa Vociel, and had three children: Charles, Ida M. and
Esther E. His wife died in 1873, and he married the second time
to Miss Fannie Housborough, daughter of Col. Housborough, of this
county. They have three children: Mattie Belle, Alonzo, and
William A. He is a member of the Methodist Church, South. During
the war Mr. Zeigel was in the commissary department of the
regular United States service, and did not participate in any
battles. He has a farm of 115 acres, well improved and well
stocked. He had no start, but has made all he has by his own
industry and management Except about one year and a half, during
which he clerked in a store, in Booneville, he has been farming
most of his life. Page 583-584
Strauther Clark, P. O., Marshall,
Was born in Monroe county, West Virginia, in 1829. Was raised
there and lived there until 1851, then moved to this county and
settled within a short distance of where he now lives, being one
of the first settlers of that region. In 1866 he married Miss
Rosa J. Finley, daughter of P. D. Finley, of this county, by whom
he has two children: Mara and Nancy, both living at home. Mr.
Clark is a member of the Christian Church, with membership at Bethlehem;
is a Mason, member of the Hemdon Lodge. In the war he did not
join either army, being exempt, and was not molested except by
the loss of one horse. Page 584
Judge Wm. B. Napton, P. O., Ridge
Prairie. Judge Napton was born in Princeton, New Jersey,
in 1808, where he was raised. He first attended school for some
years in Lawrenceville, under the care of Rev. J. V. Brown, and
at another academy in Princeton. He entered the college in Princeton,
and graduated in 1826. Through the kindness of Dr. Arch.
Alexander, of the theological seminary, he was introduced into
the family of Gen. W. F. Gordon, of Albemarle county, Virginia,
and at that time in congress, where he lived three years,
teaching his children and reading law in the general’s
library. He then entered the University of Virginia, and
graduated in the law department under Prof. Lomax, and at the
same time prosecuted the study of modern languages, French,
Spanish and Italian, under Bleutterman. Procuring a license from
three judges, as the Virginia law then required, he commenced the
practice of law in Charleston, Virginia, and continued there for
two years, or until 1832. In 1832, at the instance of a friend,
he moved to Columbia, Missouri, with the view of establishing
there a political paper, but finally decided to establish the
paper in Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, under the name the
Boonslick Democrat. While practicing law and editing this
paper, he was elected secretary of the state senate. Shortly
after the expiration of the session, on the transfer of the
attorney general, R. W. Wells, to the United State bench, he was
appointed by Gov. Dunklin, attorney general of the state. In
1838, with the consent of the senate, he was appointed by Gov.
Boggs, one of the judges of the supreme court of Missouri, which
position, by appointment and election, Judge Napton has continued
to hold, with short intervels, as shown by the supreme court
reports, until 1880, a period of forty years. Judge Napton was
married in 1838, to Miss Malinda Williams, daughter of Judge
Thomas L. Williams, chancellor of East Tennessee. Mrs. Napton
died in 1862, leaving nine living children, and one dead,
eight sons and one daughter, the latter being the wife of Mr. E.
D. Montague, of Marshall. His sons are: William B., attorney at
law, now living in this county; Thomas L., attorney at law, Deer
Lodge, Montana; John, James S., farming in Pettis county, Missouri;
Chas. M., attorney at law, St. Louis, Missouri; H. P. Wellington,
attorney at law, Joplin, Missouri; Lewis W., stockman, near Deer
Lodge, Montana, and Frank. The judge started in life with nothing
but a good education, but untiring energy and abilities of the
highest order, has made his name known throughout the land; and
he now owns a splendid farm of 1,760 acres of land in the most
picturesque portion of Saline county. His residence was built in
1840, and is situated on a high wooded bluff, overlooking the
Blackwater valley for miles. Judge Napton has always been an
uncompromising democrat. He and Senator Benton were at one time
great political friends, but as the issue arose between the
Benton and anti-Benton democrats, on what are know as the “Jackson
resolutions,” (of which Judge Napton was the author), he
squarely antagonized Mr. Benton, and was largely instrumental in
his subsequent overthrow. Page 584-585