Appendix
A
Biographical Notes 1 - 10
1.
Amos J. Stillwell.
The
following biographical sketch appeared a few years before the murder of Amos J.
Stillwell in 1888 in The History of Marion County, Missouri, by E. F.
Perkins, 1884, at p. 614:
AMOS
J. STILLWELL, (Hannibal), was born in Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, April
20, 1828. His parents were both
natives of Kentucky, and his father was engaged in an extensive milling business
in early days. Amos lived in
Maysville till 1838, when he and his brother engaged in shipping produce down
the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. In
1848, he and his brother Brison came to Hannibal and went into the milling
business at Bear creek mill, which stood at the mouth of Bear creek, in
Hannibal. In 1851 he went to St.
Louis, where he went into business with the firm of Moffett & Stillwell,
commission merchants. He remained there till 1855 and then returned to Hannibal,
where he engaged in pork packing, which he still continues. During this time he has been engaged in several other
business enterprises. He was one of
the firm of Hayward, Stillwell & Co.,who built the M., K. & T. R. R.,
from Moberly, and Naples, Ill., to Hannibal.
During the panic of 1872 he was elected president of the First National
bank of Hannibal, and had full control of its affairs, until it closed in 1878.
He is now president of the Hannibal Lumber Company. He owns a 600-acre
farm in the Sni bottom, and is one of Hannibal’s most energetic citizens and
one of Marion County’s wealthiest men. In
1854 he married Miss Mary Holman, of Boonville, Mo.
She died in 1868, leaving one son, Richard H.
He was again married in 1870, to Miss Fannie Anderson, daughter of
Charles B. Anderson, of Maysville, Kentucky.
They have two children.
AMOS
J. STILLWELL
This
most honored of Hannibal’s many prominent and respected citizens, now passed
away, was born in Maysville, Mason County, Ky., April 20,1828.
His parents were both natives of Kentucky, and his father was engaged in
the extensive milling business in the early days.
Our subject lived in Maysville until 1838, when he and his brother
engaged in shipping produce down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. In 1848 he
removed to Hannibal in company with his brother Brison, with whom he engaged in
the milling business at Bear Creek, the mill then standing at the mouth of Bear
Creek in this city. In 1851 he went
to St. Louis and engaged in the commission business with an associate, under the
firm name of Moffitt & Stillwell. This
business was successful until 1855, when Mr. Stillwell disposed of his interest
and returned to Hannibal, where he engaged in pork packing, which he continued
up to the time of his death. During
his life in Hannibal he was engaged in several important business enterprises.
He was one of the firm of Hayward, Stillwell & Co., who built the M.,
K. & T. R. R. from Moberly and Naples, Ill., to Hannibal.
In the panic of 1873 Mr. Stillwell was elected President of the First
National Bank of Hannibal and had full control of its affairs until it went into
voluntary liquidation in 1879. At
the time of his death he was president of the Hannibal Lumber Company, owned an
immense cold storage and ice business and also owned a 600 acre farm in the Sny
bottoms. He was one of Hannibal’s
most energetic citizens and one of the county’s wealthiest men.
In
1854 he married Miss Mary Holman, of Boonville, Mo., who died in 1868, leaving
one son, Richard H. He was again married in 1870 to Miss Fannie Anderson,
daughter of Charles B. Anderson, of Maysville.
Three children were born of this union, namely, Mary, who married Mr.
Gray, of California, and later Mr. A. T. Cole, of Chicago, where she now
resides; Harold, at home; and Erle, a student in the Annapolis Military Academy.
Richard
Stillwell, our subject’s son by his first wife, was associated with his father
for several years prior to his death, and has since conducted the same very
ably. The cold storage and ice
plant above mentioned is one of the largest of its kind in Missouri and is very
largely patronized by business men and residents of this section.
Almost all of the ice consumed by Hannibal citizens is manufactured by
Mr. Stillwell. Richard H. Stillwell
ranks among Hannibal’s most influential men and is connected with many
important business enterprises throughout this section.
He has carefully looked after and developed the extensive interests left
by his father and is to-day considered to be one of the most successful men in
this section of the state.
Like
his father before him, he has at all times taken a most active interest in the
development of Hannibal’s commercial resources, and possessing a high
character, faithful and true in all the relations of life, a reputation which
has never yet been assailed, he ranks among our most highly useful citizens and
men of business.
Harold
A. Stillwell was one of the children of Amos J. Stillwell and his first wife,
Mary Holman. The obituary of Harold
A. Stillwell appeared in the Hannibal Courier Post newspaper on July
21, 1956. He died July 20, 1956.
The obituary states that Harold A. Stillwell was born August 29, 1879 in
Hannibal to Amos J. Stillwell and Mary Holman Stillwell. His obituary states that he married Elizabeth Knott
Stillwell, who died in November 1945. The
obituary states that Harold A. Stillwell was preceded in death by a brother
(half brother), R. H. Stillwell (Richard H. Stillwell). The obituary states that Harold A. Stillwell was survived by
a daughter, Harriet Stillwell Brown, of Hannibal, and two grandchildren, Mrs.
James McElroy of St. Louis, and Breckenridge Brown of Hannibal.
The obituary of Harold A. Stillwell states that he was also survived by a
brother, Earle Stillwell, and a sister, Mrs. Mary Stillwell Cole, both of
Hendersonville, North Carolina. His
obituary further states that Harold A. Stillwell was survived by a niece, Mrs.
Warfield McMein, of Hannibal, and four nephews (children of his half brother,
Richard H. Stillwell): Voorhis Stillwell, of Yulee, Florida; Amos Stillwell, of
L. A., California; Dr. John Stillwell of Thomasville, Georgia; and Walter
Stillwell, 2018 Pleasant Street in Hannibal.
2.
Capt. William A. Munger.
The
following is from a biographical sketch of Capt. William A. Munger and his
brother which appeared a few years before the murder of Amos J. Stillwell in
1888 in The History of Marion County, Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884,
at p. 610:
L.
P. & W. A. MUNGER, (Hannibal). Lyman
Paige Munger and William Austin Munger were born at Rutland, Vermont, the former
on October 26, 1836, and the latter October 9, 1838. Their paternal grandfather,
Elias Munger, was born at Guilford, Connecticut, February 17, 1756, and served
through the Revolutionary War, receiving a pension for many years thereafter. On the 19th of July, 1804, he married Elizabeth Austin, who
was also a native of Guilford, Connecticut, [born] March 21,1785, and was
twenty-nine years his junior. In
1792 they moved through what was then a wilderness, settling in what is now
known as West Rutland, Vermont, on a farm, on which they lived and died, the
former September 27,1841, and the latter August 19, 1853. They had ten children, nine of which lived to manhood and
womanhood.
Of
these Carlton Austin Munger was born May 30, 1808, and married Lucy Ann Paige
May 26, 1834. She was born at
Rutland, Vermont, March 25, 1823, and died December 2, 1843.
She was a daughter of Ralph Paige who was born at Worcester, Mass.,
August 21, 1769, and died in Rutland, August 20, 1857, leaving a fourth wife
living. He had sixteen children.
He was a very successful business man, and possessing great physical and
mental energy, was well known in his State.
Through
these two lines the Munger brothers, of Hannibal, trace their ancestry through
several generations of New England to English origin.
Carlton A. Munger, their father, was for many years a merchant in
Rutland. In February, 1849, he
removed to Granville, N. Y., where for twelve years he was treasurer of the
Washington County Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
In 1861 he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and resumed mercantile business. In 1866 he followed his sons to Hannibal, where, retired from
active business, he died of apoplexy, March 4, 1878. He was a man whose sunny and affectionate disposition never
became chilled by the advance of age. Being
always a large reader, possessing excellent literary taste, and a fine memory,
his acquirements and social warmth made him a very entertaining companion and
won him many friends. Five children
survive him, and in the following order: Lyman
Paige Munger, William Austin Munger, Isabella (now Mrs. J. E. Trimble, of
Farmerville, La.), Henry Elias Munger and Lucy Ann Munger.
Lyman
P. Munger, after receiving a common school and academic education, entered the
office of the Washington County Mutual Insurance Co., at Granville, N. Y., on
the 13th of May, 1851, at the age of 14.
He was finally advanced to the position of book-keeper and cashier.
Leaving this position on the 18th of December, 1854, he became
book-keeper in the office of Lawrence Myers & Son, iron manufacturers and
general store, Plattsburg, N. Y. Occupying
the position until June, 1856, he then moved to Joliet, Ill., where, until July
18, 1861, he was cashier of the banking house of Thos. Hatton & Co.
He then removed to Des Moines, Iowa, and engaged in the mercantile
business under the firm name of L. P. Munger & Co.
On
April 9, 1863, having sold out his interest there, he started with a four-mule
heavily loaded team for the region since organized into Montana territory.
This was the first train from the States into that territory. It was before the days of railroads and involved a wearisome
journey of 1500 miles harassed at times by Indians, and repelling one attack.
Arriving in the famous Alder Gulch on “representation day,” July 1,
1863, he preempted a claim which he combined with those of two companions and
carried on mining in partnership for the next three years.
These were stirring times in that region.
No laws prevailed there, but such as were organized by the miners and any
difficulties not promptly adjusted by personal rencounter were summarily
disposed of by miner’s meetings. During
this period, a vigilante organization was formed which quickly purified the
atmosphere by executing 26 men and banishing many others.
Mr. Munger was an officer in this organization and personally assisted in
the hanging of five thugs at one time from the same beam.
It may interest old residents of this section to know that the one whom
he personally escorted to execution was Boone Helm, who some years previously
murdered Mr. Shoots, near Paris, Mo. Mr.
Munger still possesses the journal of his Montana experiences which presents an
interesting account of frontier life in those times.
In
September, 1866, having completed his mining and with a fair business capital in
gold dust, he in company with about 200 men embarked in a fleet of open boats at
the mouth of Yellowstone canyon, where the present city of Livingstone is now
situated. At that period there was
not a white man living in the entire Yellowstone valley.
Rowing down the Yellowstone river its entire length to its confluence
with the Missouri, thence down the Missouri to Sioux City, he disembarked to
resume again his relations with more peaceful civilization.
Reaching
Hannibal in November, 1866, he bought out Mr. Meadows, of the firm of Meadows
& Munger, and under the firm name of Munger Bros., the two brothers carried
on a wholesale business in agricultural machinery until 1871, when they sold
out, and embarked in the manufacture of lime.
Since and at the present time as the Hannibal Lime Company, they are
carrying on a well organized and successful business, their shipments extending
through several States.
Mr.
Lyman P. Munger was married October 19, 1869, at Prescott, Wis.
His wife, Lucy A. Howes, was a daughter of Judge William Howes, of that
place. She was born at Montpelier, Vermont, and is held in high
regard by all who know her. They
have no children. Mr. Munger may be
regarded as a typical American. Making
his own way from an early age unaided, he takes pride in the fact, that, boy and
man, he has always been prepared to meet all obligations at maturity; still he
has found time for the intellectual culture, that gives life its chiefest charm
and most abiding value.
Capt.
Wm. A. Munger was engaged in clerking in a store at Joliet, Illinois, when in
the early fall of 1862 he organized a company of volunteers for the Union or
Federal army. This organization
became Company G, 100th Illinois Infantry, and he accompanied it to the field as
its captain. He commanded his
company in the battles of Murfreesboro or Stone River, Chickamauga and
Missionary Ridge, and was then assigned in the staff of the commanding officer
of the 2d division, 4th army corps. In
this capacity he served until the close of the war.
He then located in Hannibal, where he has since resided and has been
since 1871 extensively engaged in the lime business.
For some time he has been superintendent of the Hannibal Lime Company.
He has been a member of the Hannibal city council, and served one term as
Mayor. Capt. Munger was married in
1865 to Miss Anna Casey, of Joliet, Illinois.
The
following portraits of Capt. William A. Munger and his brother, Lyman P. Munger,
appear at page 1029 of The History of Marion County, Missouri, by E. F.
Perkins, 1884:
HON.
WILLIAM A. MUNGER.
The
subject of this memoir is a native of Vermont, born in Rutland, Oct 9th, 1838.
He was educated in the common schools of his native city and Granville,
N. Y., to which place his parents moved. At
the age of 16 he entered into business for himself, to carve out his own career.
Leaving the parental roof, he made his way to the pretty town of
Plattsburg, N. Y., where he found occupation as clerk in the house of L. Myers
& Sons, merchants and manufacturers. After
four years here he started west, locating at Joliet, Ill., where he remained
until 1863, when he responded to President Lincoln’s call for more soldiers,
gave up his business and entered active service.
He soon organized what is known as Co. G, 100th Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, and was chosen as its captain. This
was the first company organized in that county under that call.
Mr. Munger served in the memorial field of Stone River, afterwards in the
battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge and others.
Afterwards at Knoxville, December, 1863, Capt. Munger was placed on staff
duty in the Second Division of the Fourth Army Corps, serving in the capacity
during the balance of the war. He
was in the campaign at Atlanta and marched against Hood’s army.
July 15th, 1865, the 100th regiment was mustered out and discharged at
Nashville, Tenn. Capt. Munger
served throughout the war without receiving a wound, without hospital service or
the loss of a day, and was never at any time out of sight of his command.
He received special mention for gallant conduct at the battle of Stuart
Creek, in December, 1863.
Capt.
Munger located in Hannibal in 1865 and was first engaged in the implement trade.
In 1871 he and his brother, Lyman P. Munger, engaged in the manufacture
of lime, together with the quarrying and cutting of stone for building purposes.
They owned a fine quarry on Bear Creek and in the city and employed from
one hundred to two hundred men. With
his brother Lyman he is extensively engaged in agriculture, have a fine tract of
some five thousand acres of land in what is called “Sny Bottom” in Illinois,
and Bay Bottom above Hannibal. Mr.
Munger was united in marriage at Joliet, Ill., Dec. 3, 1865, to Mahala Anna,
daughter of Samuel K. and Emily (McCleary) Casey, Mt. Vernon, Ill.
Mr. Munger was called upon to mourn the loss of his beloved companion,
who departed this life Jan. 3, 1894.
He
was elected member of the City Council in 1868.
In1880 he was chosen Mayor, and filled the office with exceptional credit
to himself and to the city. In 1881
he was again elected to the City Council.
In
January, 1903, Munger Bros. sold their lime plant and business and are now
operating 5,000 acres of bottom land, located about equally on the east and west
sides of the Mississippi River. This
tract they have been buying and improving for years.
It is all protected by the Sny and South River levees and is remarkably
fertile. The Hannibal and Quincy Trolley line, recently organized, passes on the
edge of this levee tract in Illinois. Mr.
Munger and his brother have been potent factors in the growth and development of
their adopted city, and are regarded among its most progressive business men.
The subject of our sketch is personally of good physique, a man of modest
bearing, simple in speech, direct and earnest.
While always interested and generally actively engaged in public
enterprises affecting the good of the city, is equally so identified with its
social life.
He
is a member of the Episcopal church and has been a vestryman of that
organization for many years. His
personal career is spotless, his word is repeatedly accepted throughout the
community in which he has lived the past forty years, in which he is also so
well known and highly esteemed. For
the past five years Mr. Munger has been the President of the Hannibal Business
Men’s Association and trustee of the factory land.
3.
Dr. Joseph Carter Hearne.
The
following biographical sketch of Dr. Joseph Carter Hearne
appeared a few years before the murder of Amos J. Stillwell in 1888 in The
History of Marion County, Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884, at p. 604:
JOSEPH
CARTER HEARNE, A. M., M. D., 32, (Hannibal).
Dr. J. C. Hearne is a son of Frank P. and Catherine Hearne, and was born
in Woodford county, Ky., March 26, 1851. His
mother was native of Kentucky; as was his father, who became one of the most
prominent and wealthy lumber merchants of Hannibal.
Joseph C. lived in Kentucky till 1867, and then entered the State
University at Columbia, Missouri, where he graduated in 1870. While attending
this institution, he was adjutant in the military department.
In the fall of 1870, he entered the Jefferson Medical College at
Philadelphia and was the office student of Prof. S. D. Gross.
During the years 1871 and 1872, he was second assistant in clinics under
the same professor. He graduated in
1872, and in a competitive examination of a class of forty-seven, for five
resident physicians for the city hospital of Philadelphia, was one of the chosen
number, and held the position two and a half years.
In
1874 he located at Hannibal, where he has since practiced his profession.
He was city physician five years and resigned, but at the solicitation of
his friends, he was again elected in 1883. During the period of his
administration as city physician he was chiefly instrumental in organizing the
Home of the Friendless, of which institution he was and is the physician in
charge. In 1881 he was appointed
chief surgeon of the H. & St. Joe, and is now assistant surgeon of the
Wabash R. R.; C., B. & Q. R. R.; K., H. & St. Louis, and Missouri
Pacific. He is examining surgeon
for the Knights of Honor, Legion of Honor, the Masonic lodge and several life
insurance companies. In 1883 he was
appointed by Gov. Crittenden, a member of the State Board of Health, and upon
its organization, July 13th, was elected secretary. The firm of Hays & Hearne has a large and lucrative
practice. Dr. Hearne, though young
in years, has a State reputation as a physician.
He was married Oct. 22, 1874, to
Miss Fannie E. Brown, daughter of Dr. M. F. Brown of Hannibal.
He has attained the 32nd degree of Free Masonry, seldom reached even by
those much his senior in years. His
position in life is to be envied and his future is full of promise.
The
following portrait of Dr. Joseph Carter Hearne is from page 1020 of The
History of Marion County, Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884:
4.
William T. League.
William
T. League operated a “hot house and florist” establishment at 321 S.
Fifth Street.
5. Dr.
Albert L. Allen.
The
following biographical sketch of Dr. Albert L. Allen appeared a few years before
the murder of Amos J. Stillwell in 1888 in The History of Marion County,
Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884, at p. 907:
ALBERT
L. ALLEN, M. D. Dr. Allen was born February 21, 1830, in St. Lawrence county,
N. Y., where he remained till grown. He
is a son of Rev. Ira and Betsey (Wilder) Allen, both natives of Vermont.
In 1854 he entered Antioch College, Ohio, and there graduated; he then
went to the State University at Ann Arbor, Mich., where he graduated in the
medical department in 1861. He then offered his services to the government, and was
assigned to the medical staff, and placed in the hospital at Jefferson Barracks,
near St. Louis, where he remained till the close of the war.
In 1865 he located at Hannibal, where he has since resided, and has a
large practice. He is an A. O. U.
W., a Knight Templar and a member of the M. E. church.
In 1863 he was married to Miss Mary L. Blades, daughter of Rev. William
Blades, of Michigan. They have one child living.
6.
Dr. John L. Gleason.
The
following biographical sketch of Dr. John L. Gleason appeared a few years before
the murder of Amos J. Stillwell in 1888 in The History of Marion County,
Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884, at p. 927:
JOHN
L. GLEASON, M. D., Was born in McIndoe’s Falls, Vermont, August 3, 1839, and
is a son of John C. and Margaret A. (Duncan) Gleason, both natives of Vermont.
He attended school at Phillips Academy three years, and in 1860 he
entered Dartmouth College, where he remained two years.
In 1863 he took a course of medical lectures at Jefferson College, in
Philadelphia, Pa., and in 1865 and ‘66, at Harvard College, where he graduated
in 1866. This same year he came to
Hannibal, where he still practices his profession. He has been city physician five years, and examining pension
surgeon since 1876. He was married
to Miss Lois Cobb in 1870. She is a
daughter of Royal P. and Annie (Howard) Cobb, of Hannibal.
Mr. and Mrs. G. have had four children.
Two are living.
7.
Richard H. Stillwell.
See
biographical note above on Amos J. Stillwell for additional information on his
son Richard H. Stillwell. According
to the obituary of Richard H. Stillwell, he was born June 9, 1856, in
Booneville, Missouri. He married
Louise “Lulu” Voorhis, daughter of Cornelius Voorhis, who was “...a
pioneer of Hannibal.” (See
biographical note 24 below on Cornelius Voorhis.)
Richard H. Stillwell died March 6, 1928 and his obituary appears in the Hannibal
Courier Post newspaper on the same date.
His obituary states that he was survived by 5 children: Mrs. Warfield
McMein of Hannibal; Voorhis
Stillwell of Florida; Amos J. Stillwell of Hannibal; Dr. John Stillwell of St.
Louis; and Walter Stillwell, student in Law department of Washington University.
The obituary also states that Richard H. Stillwell was survived by two brothers
(actually they were half brothers), Harold Stillwell of Hannibal, and Earle
Stillwell of North Carolina. Richard
H. Stillwell and his wife are buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetary in Hannibal.
The
obituary of Louise “Lulu” Voorhis Stillwell, wife of Richard H. Stillwell,
appeared in the Hannibal Courier Post newspaper on August 5, 1926.
The obituary states that she was born in St. Louis on September 16, 1861,
and was the daughter of Col. Cornelius Voorhis. The obituary states that she
came to Hannibal at the age of 13. She
died on August 4, 1926. Her
obituary states, “The Stillwell family was reared in the old homestead which
stood on W. Bird Street, where the W. B. Pettibone residence is now located.
Upon disposing of the property the Stillwells removed to the corner of
6th and Center streets, where they lived for a number of years.
Mr. and Mrs. Stillwell have more recently been in the Maryland Apartments
on Center Street.”
The
obituary of Walter G. Stillwell, son of Richard H. Stillwell and grandson of
Amos J. Stillwell, appeared in the Hannibal Courier Post newspaper on
April 3, 1993. He died on April 2,
1993. His obituary states that he was born in 1902 to Richard H. and Louisa
Voorhis Stillwell. He married
Mildred Walker on March 17, 1928, who died December 29, 1979.
The obituary of Walter G. Stillwell states that he was survived by two
daughters, Harriet S. Reimers of Haddonfield, N. J., and Frances S. Atwood of
Chula Vista, Calif. The obituary
states that Walter G. Stillwell was survived by a grandson, and three
grandaughters: Jon Reimers, of Maui, Hawaii; Judy Reimers, of Boca Raton,
Florida; Margaret Gerard, of El Segundo, California; and Catherine Atwood, of
Highland, California. The obituary
states that Walter G. Stillwell was preceded in death by three brothers and one
sister: Voorhis Stillwell, John
Stillwell, Amos Stillwell, and Margaret McMein.
The
following photograph of Richard H. Stillwell is from page 331 of
The Mirror of Hannibal, C. P. Greene, 1905 (revised edition 1990):
8.
James A. Nelson.
The following biographical sketch of James A. Nelson appeared a few years
before the murder of Amos J. Stillwell in 1888 in The History of Marion
County, Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884, at p. 967:
JAMES
A. NELSON, is a son of John M. and Matilda Nelson, both of Worcester county,
Indiana. He was born in Hannibal,
Missouri, October 20, 1834; was raised on a farm four miles from town, and lived
at home until 22 years of age. He
ran a saw and grist mill five years, and when the civil war broke out he
enlisted in the Confederate service in Capt. Bates’ company, M. S. G., where
he served six months as wagon-maker; he then enlisted in Capt. Kneisley’s
battery, and in 1862 was discharged at Abbeville, Mississippi, on account of
disability. He regained his health
and enlisted in Col. Lawther’s Independent rangers.
He was taken prisoner at Rolla, Missouri, and paroled; he then returned
to Hannibal and did not again enter
the army. In 1864 he ran a saw
mill, sawing lumber for the Hannibal & Sr. Joe Railroad.
In 1865-66 he dealt in stock, and in 1867 engaged in his present business
as a member of the livery firm of Jordan & Nelson. Mr. Nelson owns a fine 320 acre farm on the Sni Bottom, and
has made all he has since 1864. He
was married in 1869 to Miss Mary A. Farnells, of Hannibal, formerly of
Pennsylvania. They have five
children.
9.
John T. Holme, Sr.
John
T. Holme, Sr., is the great-great grandfather of Charles L. Hickman, who has
printed this private version of The Stillwell Murder.
Below is a photograph of John T. Holme, Sr.:
John
T. Holme, Sr.
John
T. Holme is a son of Peter H. and Adaline (Finch) Holme, the former a native of
Pennsylvania; the latter of New York. Jno.
T. was born in Rushville, Illinois, November 11, 1837.
He attended the Rushville Academy until seventeen years old, and in 1854
entered Jubilee College, where he graduated in 1857.
He then went to St. Louis, where he was cashier for the Gas Company two
years. In 1859 he engaged in the
commission business which he continued up to 1863. He then moved to Hannibal and engaged in the grocery business
up to 1865, after which he went to St. Joe, Mo., and went into the wholesale
harness and leather trade with his brother.
In 1868 he returned to Hannibal, where he has since done a large
insurance business. He was tendered
the office of Insurance Commissioner by Gov. Crittenden, but declined.
In 1863 he married Miss Mary Levering, of Hannibal. They have two
children. He and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian church.
10.
William R. Pitts.
The
following biographical sketch of William R. Pitts appeared a few years before
the murder of Amos J. Stillwell in 1888 in The History of Marion County,
Missouri, by E. F. Perkins, 1884, at p. 971:
WILLIAM
R. PITTS. Mr. Pitts was born in
Berlin, Worcester county, Maryland, Dec. 24, 1832, and is the son of James P.
and Gertrude (Jarman) Pitts, both natives of Maryland.
His grandfather was a sea captain and a soldier of 1812.
His parents came to Hannibal in 1836.
At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to the harness-maker’s and
saddler’s trade, until twenty-one, but by doing over-work was able to buy his
time at eighteen years of age. In
1852 he engaged in this business in the firm of Jordan & Pitts. In 1878 he bought out his partner’s interest and is yet
engaged in the same trade, both retail and wholesale.
He has been a member of the city council and also a director in the
Farmers’ and Merchant’ Bank ever since its organization.
Mr. Pitts’ success is due to his own industry and energy, and he richly
deserves it. In 1853 he
married Miss A. D. Combs, of Hannibal; has by this union ten children.
The
following biographical sketch of William R. Pitts appears at p. 349 of The
Mirror of Hannibal, C. P. Greene, 1905 (revised edition 1990):
WILLIAM
R. PITTS
This
respected citizen of Hannibal, one of the founders of the Farmers’ and
Merchants’ Bank, was born in Berlin, Worcester County, Maryland, December
28th, 1832. He is the son of James
P. and Gertrude (Jarman) Pitts, both natives of Maryland.
His grandfather was a sea-captain and soldier of 1812.
Mr. Pitts’ parents came to Hannibal in 1836 and at the age of 14 our
subject was apprenticed to the harness making and saddler’s trade until 20,
but by working over time he was able to buy his time at 18 years of age.
In
1852, in company with a Mr. Jordan, he engaged in the harness making business
under the firm name of Jordan & Pitts.
This partnership continued until 1878, when he bought out his partner’s
interest and conducted the business alone, both retail and wholesale, until
1890. Our subject then disposed of his business to Mr. S. A. Drake and retired
from active business life. He has
since devoted his time to looking after his private affairs and his interests in
the Farmers’ and Merchants’ Bank, of which
he has been a director ever since its organization.
He is one of Hannibal’s oldest pioneer business men and has been at all
times active in aiding and advancing the welfare of his home city. At different times, his friends and constituents have shown
their appreciation of his true worth as a citizen by placing him in the charge
of their interests in the Council Chamber, and for two terms he has represented
his ward and faithfully performed the many arduous duties imposed upon him.
His success in life has been due to his own industry and energy, and starting
as he did from the bottom of the ladder, working his way up to the top,
overcoming many obstacles and meeting with untold difficulties, he richly
deserves the success he has attained. In
1853 he married Miss A. D. Combs. They
have had ten children, nine boys and one girl, four of whom are living, by name,
Charles J., Robert J., Frank B. and Harry.
Throughout
his life Mr. Pitts has been held in the highest esteem by those with whom he has
associated and the utmost confidence is reposed in him by the entire community,
the main purpose of his life having been to sustain the true character of a
Christian gentleman.