CHAPTER XXVII (Part 74)
BIOGRAPHICAL
O. W. Knisely, of the firm of Knisely & Chastain, well-known grocers, located at 701 East Ohio street, Clinton, is a native son of Henry County. He was born in 1871, a son of Lewis and Minerva (Knisely) Knisely, both natives of Ohio. They came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1870, and bought a farm in Osage township, where the father still resides. The mother died December 24, 1915, and her remains are buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery. Lewis and Minerva Knisely were the parents of the following children: U. C, engaged in farming near the home place; W. H., deceased; O. W., the subject of this sketch; Dr. A. L., member of the Medical Corps of United States Army and is now located at Ft. Worth, Texas; A. A., deceased; and two children who died in infancy.
O. W. Knisely was educated in the Columbia Hall School, and when twenty-two years of age came to Clinton and worked at broom-making for two years, and in 1895, he entered the employ of W. H. Edwards, who conducted a grocery store. Later, Dr. A. L. Knisely bought the store which he afterwards sold back to Edwards, and Edwards in turn sold out to H. G. Scott. O. W. Knisely continued to be employed in the store by various owners until July 6, 1916, when he and J. H. Chastain bought the store and conducted the business in partnership until J. H. Chastain was inducted into the National Army July 23, 1918. Shortly afterwards, on August 8, 1918, Mr. Chastain sold his interest in the store to his brother, J. W. Chastain. J. H. Chastain died while in the service at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and his remains were brought to Clinton for burial October 12, 1918. Mr. Knisely and J. W. Chastain have conducted the business in partnership since and they have a large and growing business. They are among the live and progressive merchants of Henry County.
Mr. Knisely was united in marriage in 1896 with Miss Kate L. Scott. The wife and mother died in 1911, leaving two children, Corlus and Lewis. In June, 1914, Mr. Knisely was united in marriage with Miss Emma Chastain and to this union, two children have been born, Marvin and Charles. Mr. Knisely takes an active interest in local political and civic affairs and has served as Councilman from his ward two years. He is a Democrat.
J. H. Chastain, formerly of the grocery firm of Knisely and Chastain, of Clinton, Missouri, now deceased, was a native of Missouri. Mr. Chastain was born at Wheatland, Hickory County, Missouri, in 1888, and was a son of John, and Caldona (Coons) Chastain, both of whom were reared in Barton County, Missouri. The father died in that county and the mother now resides at Brownington, Missouri. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Ida Austin, Roseland, Missouri, who succeeded J. H. Chastain as a member of the firm of Kniseley and Chastain, Clinton, Missouri; Emma, Clinton, Missouri; and J. H., the subject of this sketch.
J. H. Chastain was united in marriage November 22, 1917, with Miss Lula Fry of Osceola, Missouri, where her mother now resides.
J. H. Chastain and O. W. Knisely engaged in the grocery business in partnership at No. 701 East Ohio street, July 6, 1916, and were successfully carrying on the business when Mr. Chastain was inducted into the National Army July 23, 1918. He was in training at Ft. Riley, Kansas, where he died, and his remains were taken to Clinton, Missouri, for burial, October 12, 1918.
T. H. Raney, postmaster and general merchant at Garland, Missouri, is a native son of Henry County. He was born in Springfield township, five miles south of Calhoun in 1882, and is a son of A. G. and Martha M. (Goff) Raney. A. G. Raney, the father, is a native of Kentucky, and was brought to Missouri by his parents when he was two years old. He was reared and educated in this State and settled in Henry County, prior to the Civil War. He and his wife now reside on their old home place in Springfield township.
A. G. and Martha M. (Goff) Raney are the parents of the following children: Robert Arthur, a grocer at Fairmount Park, Kansas City, Missouri; T. H., the subject of this sketch; Albert D., a farmer in Springfield township.
T. H. Raney was educated in the public schools of Springfield township. He remained at home until he was twenty-four years of age, when he engaged in farming, which he followed for four years. In 1909, he purchased the J. T. Cheatham store at Garland, Missouri, and since that time, he has been successfully engaged in the mercantile business here.
He carries a very complete line of groceries, dry goods, shoes and hardware, and in fact, everything usually found in a modern department store, only his is known as a general store. The difference between a department store and a general store seems to be that the former is located in the city, while the latter is found in the country. Mr. Raney has built up a large trade in the village of Garland, and the rich surrounding country tributary to that trading point. He is a capable business man and a progressive merchant, and the success that has come to him is well merited.
Mr. Raney was married March 15, 1905, to Miss May Louise McAllister, daughter of James and Sarah Young McAllister of Springfield township, Henry County. Mrs. Raney's mother is a native of Missouri, and her father was born in Indiana; he came to Missouri about fifty years ago, shortly after the close of the Civil War, and now resides in Henry County, about seven miles south of Windsor. Mrs. Rainey is one of the following children born to her parents: Ed; Elsie; Mrs. Archie Ferguson, Windsor, Missouri; William, Windsor, Missouri; Mary Louise, wife of T. H. Raney, the subject of this sketch; Maud, married Mark Dewey, Gridley, Kansas; Herman, now in the Aviation Corps of the United States Army, and D. Roy, a student in the University of Missouri.
John W. Robinson, now deceased, was a prominent pioneer of Henry County and a Union veteran of the Civil War. He was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1834, a son of James and Sarah (Johnson) Robinson. When John W. Robinson was a child, his parents removed from Pennsylvania to Wayne County, Ohio, where they both lived until 1869 and then moved to Henry County, making a permanent settlement in Bogard township on the present Robinson homestead.
When the Civil War broke out John W. Robinson enlisted in the 102nd Ohio Infantry and served until the close of the war. He was mustered out of service and honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, by general order of the war department.
On July 1, 1868, John W. Robinson was united in marriage with Miss Matilda E. VanKirk, a native of Wayne County, Ohio, and a daughter of Reuben and Agnes VanKirk, natives of Washington County, Pennsylvania, who removed to Ohio and spent the latter part of their lives in Wayne County. Mr. and Mrs. John W. Robinson came to Henry County, Missouri, the same year that they were married and on October 24, 1868, settled on a small place in Bogard township. Their first home was a small cabin fourteen by sixteen feet. This was their home for two years and their eldest daughter, Clara, was born in this pioneer home. Later, they built a more modern and commodious residence which is now the Robinson home.
The Robinson family endured the many inconveniences incident to pioneer life, and for a number of years after being discharged from the army Mr. Robinson's health was poor. However, they managed to get along very well and made a comfortable home in the new country.
Mrs. Robinson now has eighty-seven acres of land and a very comfortable home. John W. Robison died in 1904. To John W. Robinson and wife were born three children: Mrs. Clara Single, Bogard township; Nellie, a prominent Henry County teacher, who makes her home with her mother, and Vernon V., who married Eunice Gourley of Webster County, Missouri, and operates the home place. Mrs. Robinson has eight grandchildren: Lowell, Curtis, Harley, Robert, Paul, Mary Matilda, all single, and John Gourley and Frances Matilda Robinson.
Mrs. Robinson has seen much of the development of Henry County from the uninhabited plains to the present well cultivated fields and busy towns. She and her late husband, John W. Robinson, are entitled to enrollment among the honored pioneers of Henry County, who did their duty nobly and well.
