Lamkin, William T. and Mary E. (Perkins)
Pg. 401
Lawing, Robert Preston and Margaret Brooks (McDaniel)
Pg.
281
Lawing, William A. and Angelina Ross (Weaver)
Pg. 202
Lee, Henry Harrison and Mary M. (Hyde)
Pg. 564
Lee, Robert E. and Belle (Hornbeak)
Pg.
593
Long, Walter A. and Mattie E. (Alday)
Pg.
151
The bar of Christian
County is given much force and power by the membership of William T. Lamkin,
who has made his way to the front in the profession of law and is a prominent
and useful citizen. He is a sincere,
direct, positive man, a true man in the best and highest sense, and his
standing at the bar is deservedly high.
Mr. Lamkin is a product of this State, born in Linn County, June 15,
1848, and is a son of R. H. and Sarah H. (Hurt) Lamkin, natives of Kentucky and
Missouri, respectively. The Lamkins
were early settlers of Kentucky, as were the Hurts of Missouri. The father of our subject came to Missouri
in 1830, and settled in Howard County, thence he moved, shortly afterward, to
Linn County, where he was among the first settlers and active in all
enterprises for the good of the county.
During the Civil War he was recruiting officer for the Union Army. In politics he was a Democrat, and in
religion a Baptist. During his life he
held many public offices, such as justice of the peace, and county judge, and for
many years was a member of the County Court.
His death occurred at his home in Linn County, in 1871, but his wife had
died many years previous, in 1856, when forty-two years of age. Nine children were born to this estimable
couple: Fannie M., J. B., Lucy, J. C., William T., R. H., L. D., G. W., and one
who died in infancy. Six of these
children are living. J. C. was with the
Union Army during the Civil War and died at Ft. Donelson near the close of the
war. The Lamkin family is of English
extraction and of a prominent family.
The members of the family who came here at an early date took part in
the Indian wars. Until the age of
twenty-six years the original of this notice passed his life on a farm and
received a good education in the common schools. When eighteen years of age he became a teacher, and taught eight
years successively. In 1871 he attended
the William Jewell College at Liberty, Mo.
After leaving school he returned to the farm, but left the same in 1876
and went to Illinois, spending a year in Schuyler County, that State. In December of the same year he came to
Christian County, Mo., and located on a farm near Billings, where he remained
for several years. In the spring of
1887 he located in the town and began the study of law, being admitted to the
bar in 1891. He then established an
office at Billings, and up to the present has been unusually successful as a
practitioner.
He is an able attorney, a wise counselor and a man who has won the respect of all with whom he comes in contact. He is a Democrat in politics and is active in his support of all laudable enterprises. He has been a delegate to many conventions, and is an active worker in the cause of temperance. For five years he was lecturer in southwest Missouri and deputy grand master of the Masonic order of Missouri. For four years he has held the office of justice of the peace, and in 1880 he was the nominee for representative of the county on the Democratic ticket. In all educational matters he takes a deep interest. He is the owner of considerable real estate and with his family resides on twenty acres northeast of the city. He also owns forty acres farther in the country. In 1880 he bought land at Ponce de Leon, Stone County, and there built a hotel, but the scheme was not successful and he lost much of his means. In selecting his companion for life, Mr. Lamkin chose Mrs. Mary E. Perkins, of Linn County, daughter of David and Susan (Wear) Perkins, natives of Viriginia, where Mrs. Lamkin was also born, but where she remained until only three years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Lamkin was born one daughter, Nora L., who died when sixteen years of age. Mrs. Lamkin is a member of the Baptist Church, and she and her husband are highly respected by all. The later was instrumental in establishing the Masonic order, at Billings, Lodge No. 379, and he has also been one of the leading members of the Baptist Church at that place. He is active in all good work, and the city has in him a most excellent citizen. He is a member of the Royal Arch Chapter at Marionville, Mo., and for one year was high priest of that chapter. In 1892 he was candidate for prosecuting attorney of the county, but was defeated by the Republican candidate, W. A. Long, the Republicans being in a large majority. He is never too busy to attend his church service, with him church first, Masonry second, and politics third. Charity never makes an application to him in vain, for he is ever ready to assist the needy and distressed.
This well-known pioneer, who is everywhere respected
for his sterling worth, came originally from Rutherford County, Tenn., where
his birth occurred August 4, 1825. He
is a son of Robert and Mary A. (Sublett) Lawing, and the grandson of Andrew
Lawing who was a native of the Old North State, where he received his final
summons. The Sublett family came to
Tennessee from Virginia, and our subject’s grandfather, William Sublett, was a
soldier in the Revolutionary War, being captain of a company. He was of Irish descent. Mrs. Lawing was but seven years of age when
the family moved to Tennessee, and in that State she died in 1843. The father of our subject was born in
Mecklenburgh County, N. C., in 1787, but came to Tennessee at an early date and
was here married to Miss Sublett. Ten
children were born to this marriage, eight of whom grew to mature years and
four are now living: Sarah, now deceased; Mary, now resides in Tennessee; Allen
died in Arkansas in 1881; Susan resides in Springfield and is the mother of
Judge Vaughan; Robert P., subject; Frances, married a Mr. Sibley, and died in
Tennessee; Louisa, is still a resident of this county, and is single, and James
B., who died in Texas. The father of
these children came to Christian County, Mo., in 1856, and located on a farm
where he resided until his death, in 1864.
He was a farmer, considerable of a mechanic, and became well and
favorably known all over this section.
In politics he was a Democrat.
His second marriage occurred in Tennessee to Miss Ellen Ward, of
Kentucky. Four children were born to
this union: John W., Steven A., Emma and Smith, the latter deceased. Our subject with his brothers, William and
Allen, came to this county from Tennessee in 1843, and Robert and William
engaged in the saw mill business, following this for the first three
years. Theirs was one of the first
mills in the county, and was operated by horsepower.
About 1847 our subject came up to near where he
now lives and in 1847 married a Miss Margaret B. McDaniel, daughter of Samuel
McDaniel, a native of North Carolina.
She came to this county in 1842.
After marriage Mr. Lawing settled in this county about two miles north
of Ozark, and there resided until 1866, when he moved to the farm where he now
lives, two miles northwest of town. He
has always followed farming and stockraising, and has met with fair
success. His wife died on the 19th
of November, 1891. Thirteen children
were born to this marriage: Sarah, wife of G. M. Wrightman, became the mother
of six children, and died in 1883;
Robert J. resides in Ozark; John O. is living three miles north of
Ozark; Marshall M. lives in Ozark; Samuel S. is a farmer of Webster County; F.
V., single and a farmer; Mary C., at home; William E., married and resides
three miles northwest of Ozark; Effie, wife of William L. Woody; George, at
home; Fred H., a clerk in the bank of Springfield; and two, Susan and Marion,
deceased. Some members of this family
are united with the Christian and others with the Baptist Church. In political matters Mr. Lawing supports the
platform of the Democratic party. Early
in life he was Whig. He was with the
State troops during the Civil War. He
reared a large family and has twenty-two grandchildren. He has witnessed many changes in the country
since he first settled here and has contributed his share toward its
advancement. In the milling business he
and his brother were successful, and he is now the owner of 240 acres, although
at one time he owned 800 or 900 acres.
He started his children with farms and money, and they are all doing
well. His farm is on the railroad and
is nicely located. It is one of the
best in the county. The place where he
now lives is one of the oldest places in the county, having been settled
sixty-four years ago.
Within the limits of Christian County,
Mo., there is not a man of greater personal popularity than Hon. William A.
Lawing, whose recognized worth and progressive spirit are well known. He was
born at Murfreesboro, Tenn., November 17, 1818, to the union of Robert and Mary
(Sublett) Lawing, natives, respectively, of North Carolina and Virginia. The
parents were married at Murfreesboro, Tenn, where Mrs. Lawing died in 1843.
Afterward, the father married Miss Ellen Ward, who now resides in Jasper
County, MO. While a resident of Tennessee, the father followed the occupation
of cotton planter and cotton-gin maker, but later move to Mississippi, where he
was engaged as a planter alone. In 1856 he came to Christian County, Mo., and
located on the Finley, near Ozark, where his death occurred during the war. He
sympathized with the South, but took no part in the war. Honest and industrius,
he was an ideal neighbor, and a representative citizen. His father was a
Welshman, who came to America and passed the closing scenes of his life in the
Old North State, where he reared a large family. Grandfather Sublett was a
native Virginian, but an early settler of Rutherford, County, Tenn., where he
spent his last days, dying about 1840. All his life he tilled the soil. He came
of Irish descent. His wife was a Miss Akin, and they reared a large family. The
original of this notice was the second in order of birth of eight children,
viz.: Sarah, who died in Tennessee when young; Mary, who became the wife of
Preston Hatchett, of Winchester, Tenn.; Allen, who died in Arkansas, and left a
family; Frances, who died in Tennessee; Robert, a farmer in this county;
Louisa, a resident of Ozark, and James V. , who died in the Confederate Army.
Our subject had several half brothers and sisters. His youthful days were passed
assisting on the farm, in Rutherford County, Tenn., and in attending the common
schools. He learned the carpenter’s trade, and when sixteen years of age
started out to make his own way in life. He first went to Mississippi, soon
after to Florida and Alabama, and about 1835 went to Texas, where he remained
about two years and a half building houses at Houston and Galveston. Returning
to Tennessee, in 1843, he remained there a short time and then came to
Christian County, Mo., where he was engaged in mill building for some time.
About 1847 he was married to Miss Angelina R. Weaver, daughter of John and
Barbara Weaver, who came from Marshall County Tenn., to Christian County, MO.,
about 1841. There Mrs. Weaver died, and the father died at Memphis, Tenn., of
cholera while there on business. Mrs. Lawing was born in Marshall County, Tenn.
Our subject’s marriage resulted in the birth of ten children, as follows:
Martha Susan (deceased), was the wife of Henry Clark, who now resides at
Dallas, Tex.; Mary Frances, is the widow of Dr. Joseph Bertier; William Thomas;
Barbara, widow of William Wrightsman; Lela, wife of Stephen Bain; Adelaide,
wife of Joseph A. Hammon of Billings, Mo.; John R., of Cherokee Strip; Blanche,
wife of Lora Horn, of St. Louis; Amie, wife of Thomas L. Robertson, and Lola,
wife of L.H. Crawford, of Idaho. When first married Mr. Lawing settled in the
woods on his present farm, three miles southeast of Ozark, where he now owns a
fine farm of 300 acres. At one time he was the owner of 1400 acres, all the
result of his own efforts. He built many of the mills in Christian County, also
the bridge and the court house at Ozark, in connection with John R. Weaver, his
brother-in-law. For a number of years he owned and operated the mill at Ozark,
with John R. Weaver. Soon after its erection it was taken possession of by the
Confederates, who ran it for a few months. Of late years Mr. Lawing has turned
his attention to farming. Although a Southern man, he was a staunch Unionist
from the beginning of the war, and belonged to the Home Guards, doing valuable
service for the Union, and sparing no pains or expense in informing the
Federals of the movements of the enemy. He was harassed many times by both
armies, was captured several times, and was a prisoner at Springfield for
several weeks at one time. A few weeks after the Pea Ridge fight Capt. Gunning
and about seventeen of his guerrilla band attacked his house, about 2 or 3
o’clock in the night, and demanded that the door be opened. This Mrs. Lawing,
with characteristic firmness and bravery, refused to do. Preparations were then
made to break down the door, but Mr. Lawing fired into the crowd, wounding
Capt. Gunning quite seriously. This brought forth a general firing from the
latter’s men, and they made several unsuccessful attempts to burn the house;
daylight, however caused them to disappear. In 1862 Mr. Lawing was elected to
represent Christian County in the Legislature as a Union man. Politically, he
was formerly a Whig, and cast his first presidential vote for Clay, in 1840. He
voted for Bell and Everett in 1860 and for McClellan in 1864. Since 1864 he has
been an uncompromising Democrat. Socially he is a member of Friend Lodge, A.F.
& A.M., NO. 352, at Ozark. Mr. Lawing is among the oldest settlers of Christian
County, and one of its best-known citizens.
Prominent
among the early pioneers of Christian County, Mo., stands the name of Henry H.
Lee, whose thrift, enterprise and go-aheadativeness have placed him among the representative
men of the county. He was born in
Jackson County, Tenn., February 15, 1837, and his parents, James H. and Polly
(Stafford) Lee, were natives of Tennessee also. Grandfather Lee was an early pioneer of that State, and James H.
grew to manhood and married there. In
1851 he emigrated to Missouri, but previous to that he had visited the State
and located in Greene County, where he remained one year. He then returned to Tennessee, but in 1851,
as before mentioned, he came back to Missouri, making the journey by wagon, and
located in Christian County. He took up
a farm of 160 acres, began improving, and remained on the same until 1875, when
he sold out and bought a farm on Finley River, about eight miles from
Sparta. On this he passed the remainder
of his days, dying in 1887. He was a
strong Union man, and during the war was in the Home Guards. Almost all his life he had been a member of
the Christian Church, and was well respected wherever he made his home. He became quite well to do as a farmer,
which occupation he had followed all his life, but met with the usual hardships
and privations of pioneer settlers. In
politics he was a strong Democrat. In
educational and religious matters he took a deep interest, and gave liberally
of his means to further all worthy enterprises. The Lee family, ancestors of James H., resided in North Carolina,
where they were early settlers, and the grandfather of our subject was a
soldier in the Revolutionary War. The
mother of our subject died about 1870, when about sixty years of age, and was a
lifelong member of the Christian Church.
Her father was one of the early settlers of Tennessee. The following children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Lee: Melvina, deceased, was the
wife of John C. Stillings, a farmer of this county; Richard, a farmer, resides
about six miles north of Sparta (he was in the Civil War); Henry H., subject;
George W., a farmer, resides about six miles north of Sparta (was also a solder
in the Rebellion); Dicey, deceased, was the husband of Eliza Stafford of this
county; Thomas, who was also a soldier, resides in the Indian Territory and is
a farmer; John resides six miles north of Sparta where he has a farm; James, a
farmer of this county, and Franklin, a farmer four miles west of Sparta.
Robert
E. Lee, president of the J. L. Lee Lumber Company at Sparta, Christian County,
Mo., has held that position since the retirement of the first president, J. L.
Lee, who is now residing at Springfield.
This company was organized in 1891, and is now operating on the Chadwick
& Baltimore branch and on the main line of the ‘Frisco, between Springfield
and St. Louis. The vice-president is B.
F. Hobert, the secretary is F. W. Fisque, and our subject acts also as general
manager of the company. The business is
conducted on a very large scale, and the company owns large tracts of timber
land, besides buying timber from others.
A specialty is made of railroad lumber and ties, and business is carried
on at Sparta, Chadwick, and at all other points on the Chadwick branch. This county has lumber very suitable for the
business, and the company turns out a large amount of railroad ties and bridge
timber. It also handles large
quantities of cord wood, and has a mercantile establishment at Sparta, carrying
a stock of goods valued at from $5,000 to $10,000, and doing an annual business
of from $35,000 to $40,000, and that, with the mill business, amounts to about
$120,000 per year. This is by far the
largest enterprise in this part of the country, and is managed in a
businesslike manner. Eight hands are
employed all the time, and work is given to a large number of people. The members of the company are all residents
of Missouri. J. L. Lee was born in
North Carolina in 1837, a son of Green Lee, and a relative of the Lees of
Mississippi. Mr. Lee came to Missouri
from Thomasville, N. C., in 1869, and he has followed merchandising for the
most part ever since. He first engaged
in the business at Marsville, and operated in that line up to 1875, when he
removed to McClellan County, Tex., where he was in the lumber business for two
years. Returning to Marsville he again
resumed merchandising, and continued this until 1879, when he moved to
Springfield. He then became a railroad
man in the employ of the Frisco as tie inspector and was thus employed for two
or three years. From there he moved to
Exeter, this State, where, in connection with merchandising, he was in the tie
business until 1885, and then moved to Chadwick. In 1888 he moved his family to Springfield and there he resides
at the present time. He was engaged in
making and buying ties at Chadwick, and in 1891 a stroke of paralysis caused
him to retire from active business life.
In political matters he is a Democrat, and socially a member of the
Masonic fraternity. He was married in
his native State to Miss Cynthia Heple, and a family of nine children were
given them, five of whom are living: R. E., our subject; Bert S., who is
bookkeeper for the company; Clara, George and Nellie. The father has been an active businessman all his life, and has
been unusually successful.
Among
the bright and promising young attorneys of Christian County, Mo., is Walter A.
Long, who has secured a satisfactory degree of worldly success by reason of his
personal traits and the exercise of unmistakable business ability. His natural acumen, added to the thorough
education he received in his youth, makes him judicious in law, and his desire
to reach the highest possible position in the profession keeps him ever on the
alert to add to his knowledge by observation and study. For the past six years he has practiced his
profession in this and other counties of the State, and his career thus far
before the bar illustrates how admirably adapted he is to prosecute this most
exalted of professions. Mr. Long is a
native of this State, born near Westville, Chariton County, October 2, 1856,
and is a son of L. D. and Nancy (Reagan) Long, and grandson of John S. Long. The Long family is of Irish origin, and the
family tree took root in Virginia at an early day, some members of the family
serving in the Revolutionary War. Later
the Longs emigrated to Kentucky and settled in Madison County, where the
members took up large tracts of land.
In this State the father of our subject was born in 1810, and there grew
to mature years. He was married there
to Miss Reagan, a native of that State, and together they emigrated to Missouri
in 1847, settling in Chariton County, where they made their home until July 22,
1864, when the father was killed by a band of bushwhackers. He had enlisted in the Union Army, was a
strong Union man, and was killed on his own farm. He had always affiliated with the Republican party, and was a
public-spirited and most worthy citizen.
Both he and his wife were members of the Christian Church, and he was a
deacon in the same. He was one of the
early pioneers of Chariton County, became the owner of a good farm, and was
enterprising and industrious. He was
well known by all as Capt. Long. Mrs.
Long lived until 1883, and died in Iowa, while visiting a son. She was the mother of fourteen
children. The father of our subject had
one son by a former marriage, who was named William T. Long, and he is now a
successful farmer of Nodaway County, Mo.
He was a soldier during the Rebellion, in the Sixth Missouri Cavalry,
and fought bravely for the "Old Flag”.
In politics he is a Republican.
The
remainder of the children were named as follows: Mary, married Frederick Noldge
and died leaving a family; Richard, also a soldier in the Civil War, died about
1866 (he was single); Cynthia, died in childhood; Robert, a soldier in the
Sixth Missouri Cavalry, was probably killed at Lone Jack or some other battle
of the war for he was among the missing; Napoleon, died in 1876 (he was single
and a farmer); John D., single and a farmer, resides in Lynn County, Mo.;
Nathan H., a prosperous farmer and stockman of Nebraska, is married and has a
family; Albert W., is a well-to-do farmer, residing ten miles west of Ozark (he
is a man of family, and a public-spirited citizen). In politics he is a Republican; Julia A., residing in Sioux City,
Iowa, is the wife of S. Parrish, who is a prominent merchant of that place;
Maggie J. and Bettie, twins (the former is the wife of J. W. Park, and resides
nine miles west of Ozark, and the latter, who was the wife of S. W. Park, died
in 1888); Fannie, married George Thomas, and they reside on the old home place
in Chariton County; Andrew J., a railroad man, is married and resides in Webster
County; and Walter A., our subject. The
latter spent his early life in his native county, and was educated in the
common schools of Nodaway County, whither he moved when about thirteen years of
age. Leaving school, he became a
teacher and followed this occupation up to 1885, studying law in the
meantime. That year he was admitted to
the Nodaway County bar and began practicing at Marysville, where he remained
until 1887, and then came to Ozark.
Since then, he has practiced all over Southwest Missouri. He is careful in the preparation of his
cases, and is considered an accurate adviser and an earnest and conscientious
advocate. Like all the members of his
father’s family, he is a Republican, and although he was too young to take part
in the Rebellion, he was with the Union and the cause of his father. The mother’s people were slave owners, but
she was with the Union also. Mr. Long
is a self-made, self-educated man, and by his own industry and application is
now one of the prominent attorneys of the Southwest. As an educator he was well liked, and as an attorney he stands in
the front rank of the Missouri bar. In
1890 he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Christian County,
and 1892 was re-elected to that position.
Mr. Long selected his wife in the person of Miss Mattie E. Alday, a
native of Stark County, Ill., born April 16, 1861, and the daughter of A. and
Edith (Dixon) Alday. Mr. and Mrs. Long
have had three children: Walter G., Ward and Emile. The last two died young.
Socially Mr. Long is a Mason, a member of Friends Lodge at Ozark, No.
352, and has held some of the offices of the order. He has his office over Robertson’s store at Ozark, and owns a
handsome residence in that city.