CHAPTER XXVII (Part 19)
BIOGRAPHICAL
Judge William M. Wilson has been a resident of Henry County for over fifty years and is one of the best known horsemen in the western part of Missouri. While Judge Wilson's vocation has been that of farmer and stockman, his hobby has been that of a horseman. For many years, Judge Wilson has been training fast horses and has been a breeder of track animals. He is the present owner of "El Casco," trial 2:15, a five year old. He has some very fine road horses in his stables, among them being "Hummingbird," a blue ribbon winner who has won ribbons and prizes at the various fine stock shows and fairs held in this section of the State. "El Casco" was bred at the Walnut Hall Farm, Donnerail, near Lexington, Kentucky, and is a beautiful and intelligent animal.
Mr. Wilson was born on a farm in Tennessee and is the son of Samuel and Martha (Weaver) Wilson, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. Martha Weaver Wilson was a daughter of Benjamin Weaver, a soldier of the War of 1812. In 1854, the parents of William M. Wilson removed to Iowa and after a residence there of a few months, they came westward and located in Macon County, Missouri.
In 1865, Samuel Wilson came to Henry County and settled in Walker township, where he became a large land owner and was widely known throughout the county as a successful farmer and stockman. He died in 1886 at the age of sixty-nine years. His father was Samuel Wilson, a native of Tennessee who was descended from ancestors who came to America from the North Ireland country.
Samuel and Martha Wilson were parents of ten children, seven of whom were reared to maturity: Gerald, deceased; Benjamin, Marceline, Missouri; Philander, deceased; Mrs. Cordelia Hibler, Walker township; Mrs. Sarah Ann Short, Barton County, Missouri; William M., subject of this review; John M., a farmer of Walker township. The mother of these children was born in 1818 and departed this life in 1885.
William M. Wilson was reared to manhood in Henry County and has resided on his farm in Davis township for the past forty years. He is owner of 235 acres of good land in this township.
William M. Wilson and Janie Smith, a daughter of the late J. P. Smith of Henry County, were united in marriage in 1872. They have had four children: Mrs. Willie Young, living in Walker township; Mrs. Lulu Warner, Davis township; Samuel and Benjamin, who are tilling the home place.
The Democratic party has always had the support and allegiance of Judge Wilson. He has served two terms as a member of the County Court for the second district of Henry County. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is highly esteemed by all who know him.
J. L. Ferry, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Davis township and owner of 200 acres of splendid farm land near the town of La Due, was born in Keokuk County, Iowa, July 14, 1861. He is the son of Chester and Elizabeth (Stokesberry) Ferry, who were natives of Ohio and Indiana, respectively.
Chester Ferry was born in Ohio in 1832 and died in 1914. He was a son of Harvey Ferry, who was an early pioneer settler in Keokuk County, Iowa. Elizabeth (Stokesberry) Ferry was born in Indiana in 1839 and is the daughter of John Stokesberry, who entered Government land in Keokuk County as early as 1843, at a period when the north eastern part of Iowa was largely in a wild unsettled state. She is now residing in Sigourney, Iowa. There were five daughters and two sons born to Chester and Elizabeth Ferry, as follows: Mrs. Martha Lockridge, Corvallis, Oregon; J. L. Ferry, subject of this review; Mrs. Mary Bowker, Rock Island, Illinois; Mrs. Lillie Wood, Atlanta, Macon County, Missouri; John, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; Mrs. Lizette Price, Walla Walla, Washington; Mrs. Leona Slacks, wife of Prof. John Slacks, Sac City, Iowa, county superintendent of schools in Sac County, Iowa.
J. L. Ferry had little opportunity to secure an education in his youthful days and at an early age began working on his father's farm. He resided at home until his marriage with Miss Lucy Lockridge on October 16, 1883. Mrs. Lucy (Lockridge) Ferry was born near Sigourney, Iowa, a daughter of William and Hannah (Gray) Lockridge, the former of whom was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, and the latter was a native of Pennsylvania. William Lockridge located in Iowa as early as 1844, settling in Keokuk County. Prior to this he had farmed for a time in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1820 and died in 1903.
Mrs. Hannah Lockridge was born in 1822 and departed this life in 1883. They were parents of eight children: Mrs. Mary Demarce, Delta, Iowa; Mrs. Sarah Chesney, died at Keota, Iowa; Mrs. Margaretta Overturf, died at Sigourney, Iowa; Jesse, Corvallis, Oregon; Mrs. Jane Hahn, Sigourney, Iowa; Mrs. J. L. Ferry; James, Delta, Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferry began their married life on the Ferry farm in Iowa, and resided there for one year. They then purchased forty acres of land and resided upon it for three years. This farm they sold and then moved to a farm near Fairfield, which they rented for two years. For the following ten years, they lived upon a farm situated between Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, which they eventually sold. They came to Missouri after selling this farm and bought a place located six miles east of Memphis in Scotland County, Missouri, upon which they lived for one year, selling out the place at an advance over the purchase price.
Mr. Ferry's next investment was in a farm located between Gorin and Wyaconda, Missouri, where they resided for two years, disposing of this farm at a profit of $10 an acre above the purchase price. For the following three years, they resided upon a farm of 160 acres located in Shelby County, Missouri, near the town of Letner. This farm was sold at an advance of $25 an acre after Mr. Ferry had improved it and made the tract more valuable. In 1907, the Ferrys came to Henry County, where Mr. Ferry owns 200 acres of excellent land just north of La Due, in Davis township. Eighty acres of this land lies in section 14, and 120 acres is located in section 23. The farm is well improved and during the past ten years, Mr. Ferry has encircled the land with a hog tight wire fence and has been engaged in raising purebred Duroc Jersey hogs for the market as well as producing cattle.
Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Ferry are parents of the following children: Estella, wife of Garry Hull, La Due, Missouri; Mary, deceased; Cressie, wife of Julius Kiefer, Wyconda, Missouri; Elsie, wife of Clyde Louderman, a soldier in the National Army; Ralph, deceased; Raymond, born May 5, 1896, a private in the National Army, trained at Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas, and saw service on the firing line in France; Ruth, deceased; Wilson and Paul, at home.
Mr. Ferry is a Republican in politics and is looked upon as one of the best and progressive citizens of his township and county. The Ferry family have taken their places among the citizens of Henry County and have made many warm friends during the eleven years of their residence in this county.
Jacob Schneider - If any individual can correctly be called a "jack of all trades" it is the average agriculturist. Often remote from centers of population, it is impossible for him to obtain the advantages of skilled labor in building or repairing so necessary on the farm. The farmer's stronghold must, of necessity, be a complete plant in itself, and the farmer is very often a mechanic, able to do many things besides intelligently cultivating the soil. Jacob Schneider and his sons, successful farmers of Davis township, are striking examples of "all round" capability in the management of this large estate of 381 acres. When Mr. Schneider located upon his place in 1898, there were many things to be done to create a first class agricultural plant. One hundred seventy acres of his farm were Grand River bottom lands, subject to overflow. To protect the land from periodical inundations and render it productive, he built two miles of levy which successfully stopped the overflowing of his land. This bottom land produces fifty bushels of corn to the acre.
There were seventy-five acres of wheat on the place which averaged twenty-seven and one-half bushels to the acre this year, a total of 1,775 bushels. Mrs. Schneider and the Schneider girls have one of the largest gardens in Henry County, the cultivation of which adds materially to the family income. Mr. Schneider raises from forty to sixty head of pure bred Duroc Jersey hogs annually. The Schneider home is an attractive one, which sets far back from the highway and was practically erected and improved from time to time by Mr. Schneider and the members of his family. The success of Mr. Schneider is due to the excellent co-operation and assistance he has always received from his wife and the various members of his family. Some men are prone to take all credit to themselves for their accomplishments, but not so with Mr. Schneider, who says that his success is due to the help given him at all times by his wife and children.
Jacob Schneider was born in St. Charles County, Missouri, in 1855 and is the son of Jacob and Annie Catherine (Gerlach) Schneider, natives of Baden, Germany. His parents were born near the city of Heidelberg, there were reared and married and in 1854, set out for America with their three children to found a home in this great country. Jacob, the elder, was concerned with the uprising of the German people in 1849 and was forced to flee from the land of his birth in order to save his life. He found a haven in this country and made a home near Cottleville, St. Charles County, and resided there until his death in 1870 at the age of fifty years. The wife and mother died in 1897, at the age of seventy-two years. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Schneider, seven of whom were reared to maturity: George Henry, deceased; Mrs. Anna Maria Vierling, St. Charles County; Catharine, deceased; Jacob, the subject of this review; Michale, deceased; John, died in October, 1917.
Mr. Schneider came to Henry County in 1883 and first located on a farm three miles north of La Due. This was the old Birch place and consisted of eighty acres which Mr. Schneider purchased. One year later, he traded this farm for a tract of 160 acres which he sold after cultivating it for a period of fourteen years. He then bought his present farm, which he has improved into one of the finest farms in western Missouri.
On May 28, 1878, occurred the marriage of .Jacob Schneider and Caroline Kohler, in St. Charles County. Mrs. Schneider was born in Schleusburg, St. Charles County, and is the daughter of Henry Kohler, a native of Germany. The following children have been born of this marriage: Louis, at home and assisting with the farm work; George, deceased; Jacob, Kansas City, Missouri; Catherine, wife of John Hildebrandt, a farmer of Davis township; Benjamin, at home; John, living in Washington, where he is engaged in lumbering; Charles, Mary, Bertha, Ruth and Philip, at home with their parents.
For over forty years Mr. Schneider voted the Democratic ticket but is now inclined to Socialism. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America Lodge.
