CHAPTER XXVII (Part 32)
BIOGRAPHICAL
William Doll - In the north central part of Walker township is a group of some of the prettiest farms in western Missouri in which the owners take a just and abiding pride in constantly improving and making more beautiful. The farm home of William Doll furnishes a striking example of what can be done upon a tract of Missouri prairie land, and the tract of one hundred sixty acres is undeniably one of the finest improved farms in the western part of Missouri. A pretty cottage home faces a well kept roadway, the home being fronted by a beautiful lawn ornamented with large shade trees, and a handsome wrought iron fence. All of the farm buildings are kept in first class condition and well painted. Mr. Doll has another farm of one hundred sixty acres in White Oak township.
William Doll was born in 1864 in Edgar County, Illinois, and is the son of John and Mary (Wisner) Doll, natives of Germany, who first settled in Ohio after emigrating to America. They next made settlement in Illinois and from that State came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1867. The Doll family can justly lay claim to being one of the pioneer families of this county. The elder Doll settled in White Oak township and resided on his farm in that township until his death in 1907. The widowed mother still resides at White Oak having arrived at the great age of eighty-one years, her birth having been April 1, 1837. Mrs. Doll came to America aboard a sailing vessel. She boarded a ship at London on March 19, 1857, and the ship "Victoria" required forty-nine days to make the journey to New York. John Doll, the father, was born in Baden, Germany, November 17, 1831, and died September 2, 1907. He was married on February 14, 1858, to Mary Wisner. He removed from Ohio to Illinois in 1862 and thence to Missouri in 1867. To John and Mary (Wisner) Doll were born five children: William, subject of this review; John, Walker township; Jacob, a successful farmer of White Oak township; Effie and Lizzie, the former of whom is at home with her mother and the latter is in Kansas City, Missouri.
William Doll was married in 1896 to Miss Elizabeth Barth, who has borne him three children: Anna Mabel, born June 26, 1908; Florence May, died at the age of nine years, eleven months and nineteen days; one child died in infancy. Mrs. Lizzie (Barth) Doll was born in 1872 in White Oak township, and is a daughter of John and Mary (Lebold) Barth, who were among the best known of the substantial pioneer citizens of Henry County. John Barth was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, January 10, 1838, and died near Lucas, Missouri, June 6, 1917. He was married September 21, 1862, to Maria Lebold, who was born in Bolivar, Ohio, and died January 12, 1874. This marriage was blessed with five children, as follows: John W., Dora Gretzinger, Mrs. Helen Doll, Mrs. Lizzie Doll, and Jacob S. Barth. On November 4, 1875, Mr. Barth was married to Sophia Rombold, who died May 27, 1911. She bore him ten children, nine of whom are living: Albert H., Maggie, deceased; Mrs. Clara Sevier, Josie, George, Tressie, Mrs. Ida Henny, Robert, Walter, David. John Barth immigrated to America in 1852 and located in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. From there he came to Missouri in the spring of 1868 and settled in White Oak township. During the course of years in active farming operations in Henry County he accumulated a large estate valued at over $100,000. He became owner of 2,280 acres of land which he divided among his children as they became of age and desired to make homes of their own. He was president of the Farmers Bank of Urich and was universally respected and admired as one of the county's most sterling, upright and successful citizens. He was a member of the Lutheran Church and his life was so lived that the example he set of industry and right living will forever serve as an inspiration and guide to his descendants.
Upon his marriage William Doll settled upon a one hundred sixty acre farm which was given to Mi\ and Mrs. Doll by the late John Barth. This farm they have successfully built up and have added another tract of one hundred sixty acres to their holdings in this county.
Mr. and Mrs. Doll are members of the Lucas Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Doll is inclined to the Republican view of things political, while Mrs. Doll is a pronounced adherent of Democratic principles. They are kindly and hospitable people who are progressive and enterprising in their views and stand high among the citizenship of Henry County. John Witzel - The two greatest fishermen in the southern part of Henry County are John Witzel and his long time friend, Joseph H. Wilson. These two old settlers have spent many happy days in fishing for the finny denizens which are plentiful in the Deepwater River and even now, when age has come upon them, they love to take hook and line and spend a long summer day in angling for the watery denizens. In the early days Mr. Witzel also liked to hunt and remembers shooting a deer while working in a field. Despite the fact that the deer got away he is practically certain that he shot the animal, which was afterwards chased by dogs and fell dead in a neighbor's yard.
John Witzel of Germantown was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1835, and is the son of Martin and Mary Elizabeth Witzel, both of whom died in Germany. John Witzel emigrated from his native country to America in June, 1866, and arrived at St. Louis when the cholera epidemic was raging in that city. He labored in that city for day wages until 1869 and then came to Henry County, where he rented a farm situated three miles southwest of Germantown. He purchased his home farm in 1881 and the place has been beautified until it is one of the pretty farmsteads in the county. For some years he and his son-in-law, Mr. Cook, farmed the place together and during that time many improvements were made of a substantial nature. Mr. Witzel is owner of seventy-seven acres of land.
On June 2, 1868, John Witzel and Elizabeth Kloer were united in marriage. Mrs. Elizabeth Witzel was born March 7, 1848, in Germany, the daughter of Theodore Kloer, who immigrated to America in 1852. Both of Mrs. Witzel's parents died when she was but a child at their home near Cape Girardeau, Missouri. To John and Elizabeth Witzel were born children as follows: Frances, wife of J. H. Puthoff, Deepwater township; Mary, wife of August Schepers, a farmer near Montrose, who has three children: Joseph, Lizzie and Anton; Josephine, wife of Henry Cook, who died at the Witzel home February 14, 1915. Mrs. Frances Puthoff has five children: Norbit, Clements, Lizzie, Agnes and Josephine. On June 2, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Cook celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at their home near Germantown. Over forty people were in attendance.
Mr. Witzel is an independent Democrat and he and his wife are members of the Germantown Catholic Church. He is one of the best respected and highly esteemed old settlers of this section of Henry County.
M. B. Witherspoon, cashier of the Bank of Deepwater, Henry County, Missouri, is a son of one of the oldest pioneer families in this section of Missouri. He was born near Gaines, Missouri, July 13, 1868, and is the son of H. B. and Amanda (Levy) Witherspoon, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Illinois. H. B. Witherspoon was a son of one of the first pioneers of this county who settled east of Deepwater as early as 1840.
H. B. Witherspoon was born in Kentucky in 1835 and died in 1914. He was a son of Isaac Witherspoon. Mr. Witherspoon followed farming during his entire life and died at Brownington, Missouri. His wife and mother of M. B. Witherspoon died in March, 1917. H. B. Witherspoon was twice married, there being two children by his first marriage: Mrs. J. N. Dunnin, a widow living in Deepwater, and Mrs. M. T. Beelor, Clinton, Missouri. There were four children born to the second marriage: M. B., subject of this review; B. H., Troy Mills, Iowa; R. L., died at Brownington in 1915, and Mrs. E. M. Beelor, living in Oregon.
M. B. Witherspoon was educated in the district school and attended Lamkin's Academy at Clinton. For a number of years he was engaged in the mercantile business at Brownington, Missouri, and came to Deepwater in 1905 and one year later (1906) he became cashier of the Bank of Deepwater.
Mr. Witherspoon was married in 1893 to Miss Lena L. Taylor, a daughter of Dr. M. B. Taylor of Brownington, Missouri. He is a Democrat and he and Mrs. Witherspoon are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Witherspoon is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and other fraternal societies.
The Bank of Deepwater was organized as a State banking institution on February 13, 1889. The principal organizers were W. F. White, C. N. White, J. H. Yentzer, Matthias Hageman and Isaac Shaffner. J. H. Yentzer was chosen president and served for a number of years, until his death in February, 1905. M. B. Witherspoon succeeded J. C. Smith as cashier in 1905. Mr. Smith is now in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. J. C. Yentzer was succeeded by Robert Terrill as president. Mr. Terrill was succeeded by Wesley Griffin, who was followed by J. M. Marmaduke, who in turn was succeeded by Jacob Rhoads, the present incumbent of the office, who is a substantial man of affairs.
The Bank of Deepwater is in a very prosperous condition. This bank has a capitalization of $10,000; a surplus of $10,000; undivided profits of $9,000, and deposits exceeding $145,000. The present officers are Jacob Rhoads, president; Fred C. Hill, vice-president; M. B. Witherspoon, cashier; F. A. Houston, assistant cashier. The directors are: Jacob Rhoads, Fred C. Hill, George S. Hovey, F. A. Huston, M. B. Witherspoon and L. L. Shaffer.
James F. Flecker - In every county are individuals who have been able to accomplish more than ordinary success. Whether it is because of exceptional ability or the power to take advantage of opportunities which present themselves is a moted question. If one were to ask the most successful men of Henry County as to the reason for their successes in the agricultural field of endeavor, we are of the opinion that the answer would be the same as that given by James F. Flecker, retired farmer and stockman of Deepwater and one of the largest land owners of Henry County, "Hard work, keeping everlastingly at it, raise lots of live stock, buy land and make the land help pay for itself." It is practically the truth of the matter and the only agriculturist who achieves more than an ordinary success is the fellow who is not afraid to work, combined with good business management in order to make good.
James F. Flecker was born in Augusta County, Virginia, August 29, 1843, and is the son of John W. (born 1819, died 1877) and Eliza (Craum) Flecker (born 1820, died 1887). Mr. Plecker's parents were both natives of Virginia. They emigrated to Missouri and arrived in Henry County March 20, 1866, and until his death John W. Flecker was engaged in farming pursuits. He first settled upon 160 acres of land east and southeast of the Moyer place, where he lived for two years, and in 1868, moved to a tract of prairie land four and a half miles southwest of Deepwater, near the Fleasant Valley district school, and improved the land.
To John W. and Ann Eliza Flecker, were born eight children: A. H. Flecker, an artist, Lynchburg, Virginia, an ex-Confederate soldier, aged seventy-eight years; James F., of this review; Mrs. Margaret Ann Moyer, Clinton township; Mrs. Mary Fomeroy, a widow, living at Kokomo, Colorado; Mrs. Augusta Virginia, wife of Jacob Rhoads, Deepwater; David Brown, Nowata, Oklahoma; Edward Jackson, Minot, South Dakota.
James F. Flecker enlisted in Company H, Valley Rangers, Confederate Army, in 1862 and served for the Southern cause for three years under Gen. William H. Lee, in the 10th Virginia Cavalry under Captain Newham. He took an active part in many battles and skirmishes, among them being the great Battles of Gettysburg and Cold Harbor, and during a greater part of his time he was on skirmish and picket duty with cavalry detachments.
After the close of the war, he returned home and began farming on forty acres of prairie land in 1868. From this small beginning, fifty years ago, he has become owner of 1,000 acres of land in Henry County. Seven hundred acres of this land is rented and he and his sons are farming the remainder. Mr. Flecker is also owner of 720 acres of land near Mt. Zion in St. Clair County, Missouri. He has some land in Texas. He has always been an extensive feeder of live stock and his success can be attributed to the fact that for years he has kept large herds of cattle and hogs on his farms. Mr. Flecker left the farm in 1913 and now makes his home in Deepwater, but continues to visit the farm daily and take a considerable part in the farming operations. In 1910, he located in New Mexico and farmed there for a few years but found that old Missouri was the best place after all, and he returned here in 1915.
Mr. Flecker was married in 1876 to Miss Millie A. Whitford, who was born in Moultrie County, Illinois, on January 9, 1859, and is the daughter of George W., a native of Illinois, and Henrietta (Hedrick) Whitford, a native of Kentucky. Henrietta Hedrick Whitford was born July 30, 1839, and was a daughter of John and Eliza (Fletcher) Hedrick, who removed to Illinois from Kentucky in 1839. George W. Whitford was born in 1834 and died October 12, 1903. Three children were reared out of seven born to Mr. and Mrs. George W. Whitford: Mrs. James F. Flecker; William Alonzo, Nowata, Oklahoma, and George Franklin, Great Falls, Montana. The Whitfords came to Missouri in the fall of 1868 and settled in the Fleasant Valley neighborhood. After some years, they went to Colorado, thence to Oklahoma and from there to Arkansas, where Mr. Whitford died.
James F. and Millie A. Flecker have reared a large family of nine children: Ida May, Etta May, Roberta Mendora, Olive Frances, Naomi Alvira, Estella, Bessie Virginia, George Washington, Archie Lee. Ida May married William Cannon, resides near Windsor, Missouri and has one son, Orville. Etta May married Will Craig and lives in Kansas City, is mother of three children: Imogene, Marjorie and Roy Lee. Roberta Medora is the wife of William Bradley, Kansas City, and has seven children: Jewel Fern, Ernestine, Glenn, Helen, Wilma, Joseph, Eugene and Mark. Olive Frances married Harvey Switser, Lawrence, Kansas, and is mother of a son, James David. Naomi, wife of James Eames, Denver, Colorado, has a daughter, Virginia Louise. Bessie Virginia, wife of Clyde Jackson, Denver, Colorado, has a son, William Benton. Estella is keeping house for her brothers on the home farm. George Washington Flecker is a farmer on the home place, married Maggie Huffman of Artesia, New Mexico. Archie Lee is on the home place. Mr. and Mrs. Flecker have fourteen grandchildren and up to a few years ago there were five generations of the family living on Mrs. Flecker's side and including her children and grandchildren.
The Democratic party has always had the allegiance of Mr. Flecker but he has never devoted much time to political matters. He and Mrs. Flecker and all of the family excepting one are members of the Christian Church and they are hospitable, jolly and kindly people who are highly respected and esteemed in Henry County.
