CHAPTER XXVII (Part 35)
BIOGRAPHICAL
Edwin M. Reavis, deceased, pioneer of Bear Creek township, was born in Kentucky, October 13, 1830, and departed this life in Henry County, March 30, 1882. He was the son of Edwin M. Reavis of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Edwin M. Reavis was married in Texas in the fall of 1858 to Mary Margaret Hunt, born November 29, 1836, in Saline County, Missouri, the daughter of William and Azubah Hunt, an account of whom is given in connection with the sketch of E. B. Hunt, of Walker township.
Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Reavis came to Henry County and lived for a few years upon the farm he rented of E. B. Hunt until 1865. They then bought a farm of 100 acres of Joseph Capehart. This farm has been divided since Mr. Reavis' death and the home place, which is one of the prettiest improved places in Henry County, consists of sixty acres. Formerly there was a large orchard on the place, but several seasons of drought have played havoc with the trees. During the Civil War, the family suffered from the depredations of Jayhawkers and lost part of their live stock.
The children born to Edwin M. and Mary Reavis are as follows: Elizabeth C, born August 8, 1859, died 1875; Susan M., William, and Sun (triplets) died in infancy, born August 2, 1861, the former of whom died November 11, 1867; William E. Reavis, at home. Mrs. Mary Jane Chrissman, a widow, living at La Due, Missouri; John A., born April 6, 1865, died August 24, 1866; James B., born October 28, 1866, died November 4, 1867; Nancy E., wife of R. C. Grigsby, La Due, Missouri; Alice C, William E., at home with their mother; Joseph H., Drady, North Dakota; Elmer S., California; infant son, born and died December 6, 1879; Florence M., born August 6, 1882, died November 4, 1897; Joseph H., born September 6, 1872, died November 29, 1918. Mrs. Reavis has six grandchildren: Edwin, Winona, Glenbourne, and Joseph, children of Joseph Reavis. Elmer S. has a daughter, Florence. Nannie Grigsby has one son, Cecil.
Mrs. Reavis and her son are members of the Bear Creek Methodist Church. In the early days, she attended the Old Adobe Church, a picture of which through the courtesy of Miss Reavis is reproduced in this volume. The old-timers whom she knew in the early days were Mrs. Kintner, Mrs. Nick Erhart, and Mrs. Cleghorn, who were the first she met in this part of Henry county. She recalls that they would attend divine service at the Adobe Church, coming on horseback, and that the prairie grass which grew so luxuriantly on the unbroken prairie land was as high as the horse's back. Deer and game were plentiful and there were great droves of wild turkeys, quail, and prairie chickens, all of which have disappeared with the settling up of the country. Mrs. Reavis has many old curios and family relics which have been handed down to her from her ancestors, among them being an old walnut chest which was given her by Grandma Hunt, and was made by Isaac Whitaker in 1795. This chest was made for his daughter, May Whitaker, in North Carolina. He was Mary M. Hunt Reavis' great-great uncle.
Joseph B. Nold - The section of country tributary to Montrose is one of the richest and most productive sections of Missouri and is noted for its fine farms and beautiful and well-kept homes. Combined with a rich soil, well watered, and which is highly productive, is an excellent class of industrious and ambitious farmers who are constantly endeavoring to improve their properties and to make the surroundings more attractive to the eye and more comfortable as places of residence. The farm of Joseph B. Nold of Bear Creek township just east of Montrose is a splendid example of what ambition and industry will accomplish in the course of a few years. This farm consists of 160 acres in the home place and 100 acres which Mr. Nold has recently sold to his brother.
The land has on it fifty acres of timber, bordering on Bear Creek, and is well watered at all seasons of the year. Mr. Nold has a fine farm residence, a large barn covered with iron sheeting, sixty by seventy-two feet, two silos twelve by thirty feet, one of which is built of glazed tile. Mr. Nold is a breeder and feeder of shorthorn cattle, and feeds large numbers of cattle and hogs. For a number of years, he has been engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock and handles from 50 to 100 loads annually.
Joseph B. Nold was born at Pilot Grove, Cooper County, Missouri, in 1868 and is the son of Albert Nold, who was born in Germany in 1843 and accompanied his parents to America in 1850. The Nolds first settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, and then moved to Illinois, making a settlement in Cooper County. Missouri, in 1868. Charles Nold, a brother, brought the first threshing outfit to Cooper County. Albert Nold has prospered as he deserved and accumulated a farm of 240 acres in Cooper County, near Pilot Grove. He also owned another tract of seventy-five acres, but has recently sold his Cooper County land and moved to Montrose, Missouri, in August, 1918. His wife was Catherine Felton, born in Germany in 1817, the daughter of Bertram Felton, who came to America in 1850, and settled in Cooper County, Missouri, during the Civil War. Bushwhackers robbed him of everything that he owned during the war, and he had a very hard time of it for a number of years.
There were eleven children born to Albert and Catherine Nold, as follows: Joseph B., Max, Edward, Albert, John, Lee, and William, all living in Henry County; Mrs. Lena Neckerman, Mrs. Katie Grotzinger, Mrs. Anna Stoecklein, living in Cooper County; Mrs. Freda Brzuchalski, Henry County, Missouri.
In 1893, Joseph B. Nold began his own career in Cooper County, Missouri, and became owner of a farm in that county. He disposed of his holdings there in 1909 and came to Montrose, Henry County, and invested in 160 acres of land to which he added 100 acres. He is of the opinion that there is no better section of country in Missouri than the Montrose neighborhood.
Mr. Nold was married in 1893 to Miss Mary A. Neckerman, who was born in Cooper County, Missouri, the daughter of Andrew and Barbara Neckerman, natives of Germany, who were pioneer settlers of that county.
Mr. and Mrs. Nold have five children: Albert A., aged eighteen years; Lena, aged sixteen years; Lovina, aged fourteen; Frank, twelve years old; and Theresia, aged ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Nold are also rearing an orphan girl, Christina, and have an adopted son, Andrew, aged twenty-eight years, now a private in the National Army, in France.
The Republican party has always had the support of Joseph B. Nold, and he is now serving as trustee of Bear Creek township. He and his family are members of the Montrose Catholic Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Knights of America, and takes a prominent and influential part in the deliberations of these bodies. Mr. Nold is universally recognized as a citizen of honor and integrity and his place among the really successful men of Henry County is well established.
Charles W. Engeman, retired farmer and vice-president of the Montrose Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, Montrose, Missouri, was born in Warren County, Missouri, in 1853 and is the son of Henry and Mary (Fischer) Engeman, natives of Germany who immigrated to America in 1883, and first located in Warren County, Missouri. In 1872, they came to Henry County and settled near Appleton City on the Henry-St. Clair County line. Henry Engeman was born in 1815 and died in 1885. Mary Engeman was born in 1846 and died in 1906.
They were parents of ten children: August, lives near Germantown; Mrs. Dena Danzebrink, a widow, living at Montrose; Henry, deceased; Charles W.; Mrs. Mary Hillerman, living east of Germantown; Mrs. Lena Thompson, a widow, living with the subject of this review; Anna, died at the age of eleven years; Louisa, now Sister Violante, New York; Christina, deceased; and John Engeman, Montrose, Missouri.
Charles Engeman accompanied his parents to Henry County in 1872, and in the spring of 1875, he went to Nevada, and was employed for three years upon an irrigated ranch near Winnemucca, Paradise Valley, Humboldt County, that State. In 1878, he returned to Montrose and resided here for two years. He returned to Nevada in 1880 and remained there for two years. He then came home and resided with his parents.
In 1897, Mr. Engeman purchased his present farm of seventy-two acres and has since been engaged in farming and coal mining.
Seventy acres of the Engeman farm are leased for coal mining purposes and the coal is obtained by the "stripping" process of mining. Several thousand tons have been mined from the land and coal has been taken from the place for the past twenty years. During 1917, there were mined on the Engeman tract a total of 2,944 bushels of coal.
Mr. Engeman is an independent Democrat and is a member of the Montrose Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He has been connected with the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Montrose since 1907.
