CHAPTER XXVII (Part 37)
BIOGRAPHICAL
Martin Vanburen Brown - For over the long period of fifty-one years, Martin Vanburen Brown, one of the old pioneers of Deepwater township, has resided on his splendid country place southwest of Montrose. The Brown homestead is a handsome, old style Colonial residence, built of the finest hardwood lumber, prior to the Civil War era. The home itself has a beautiful setting, being at the apex of a long gentle slope of green lawn which is dotted with a fine grove of shade trees. Mr. Brown is owner of 800 acres of rich farm lands, 320 acres of which is comprised in his home place.
Martin V. Brown was born on a farm located eight miles west of Springfield, Illinois, on Spring Creek, March 4, 1837. He is the son of Reason D. Brown (born 1813, died 1885), who was the son of Joshua Brown, a native of Kentucky, and who was a pioneer settler in Illinois, locating there in the early twenties. Joshua Brown assisted in the raising of the first house in the city of Springfield, Illinois, and was prominent in the early history of Springfield and vicinity. Reason D. Brown was married to Rachel Ernest (born 1815, died 1905), a daughter of Illinois pioneer parents. Reason D. Brown spent the last year of his long life on a farm, situated east of Appleton City, Missouri, and died there in 1885. He was father of twelve children, only two of whom are living: Martin Vanburen, and John D. of Deepwater township.
Martin V. Brown was reared in Illinois and enlisted in the ranks of hard workers when nineteen years of age. In 1861, he went to Idaho and was employed in the Salmon River mines for five years. During that time he earned and saved enough money to make a start on his own account. After a trip home to Illinois, he came to Henry County, Missouri, in the spring of 1867, and purchased 700 acres of land at a cost of $13 per acre. This land was already improved but Mr. Brown has succeeded in adding to this acreage another 100 acres. He has done exceedingly well but attributes a great part of his success to the assistance and counsel of his capable wife.
On September 26, 1869, M. V. Brown and Miss Helen Cecil were united in marriage. Mrs. Helen (Cecil) Brown was born on a farm east of Clinton in Henry County in 1848, and is the daughter of Wilson and Henny Cecil, who came from Kentucky and settled in Henry County in 1837. This marriage has been blessed with five children: Allie, wife of Charles Campbell, a merchant at Montrose; Missouri; Ernie C, a well-known farmer of Walker township; Charles M., a farmer of Walker township, married Edna, daughter of Henry Oliver, and has three children, Cecil, Marie and Wilford; Helen, wife of J. Ed Dugan, Deepwater township, mother of two children, Wilfred and Martin Edward; Harry, living on the home place, married Clara, daughter of Robert Burns of Appleton City, Missouri, has a son, Robert Martin.
During his entire life since attaining his majority, Mr. Brown has been a consistent and faithful Democrat. He and his family are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. As a man and citizen, there is none better in Henry County, and Mr. Brown is a typical gentleman of the old school. He is kindly disposed to all mankind and is spending the last years of his long life in comfortable and happy retirement, well content to shift the burden of the cultivation of his farms to younger shoulders. He is popular and is universally esteemed throughout the countryside.
Joseph F. Hibler - For the past sixty-three years, Joe Hibler has been a resident of Henry County and is one of the typical, jolly, big-hearted old-timers of Missouri - the kind of men we have all read and heard about as typical of the true Missourian. During his boyhood days, Joe Hibler attended school in an old log school house, a converted pioneer's log shack with cracks between the logs big enough to throw a boy through if the schoolmaster so minded. The boys in Joe's younger days were every whit as mischievous and full of tricks as the present-day boys, and it is probable that the schoolmaster found occasion to throw the boys through the cracks when they were mean. This school house had a puncheon floor, and slab seats. Along one side of the room was a big six-foot fireplace which was kept filled with big logs during the cold winter days. A roaring fire was kept up but the fire only warmed one side of the school boys. The wind whistled through the cracks and kept the air stirring in the room at all times. The only light in the building was obtained by sawing out a length of log about eight feet. This aperture let in both air and light. Joe Hibler has seen thousands of deer on the plains of Henry County in his youthful days and his father would shoot them from the doorway of their home. The nearest trading post was at old Germantown and Johnston in Bates County, then called "Hard scrabble" by the pioneers in the old days. Joe had a partner who assisted him in various misdeeds and it was a favorite pastime of theirs to entice a bunch of cattle near a hornet's nest and stir up the hornets.
Another pastime was robbing the apple cellars of their relatives. Joe Hibler was born in Osage County, Missouri, in 1849 and is the son of Henry Hibler, one of the best-known of the early pioneers of this section of Missouri.
Henry Hibler was born in 1822 in St. Louis County, Missouri, and was living in St. Louis when it was but a small river village, peopled by Frenchmen and adventurers from all parts of the world. He and his parents were pioneers of Osage County, where Henry Hibler became a live stock dealer on a large scale. The live stock market was far away at St. Louis and the trip was a long and tiresome one to make. Mr. Hibler was persuaded by his neighbors to drive their cattle to St. Louis, sell them and bring back the proceeds. He soon got into the business and handled the cattle on commission. Taking assistants with him he would make the trip whenever a sufficient number of cattle were ready for the market. He would frequently drive a big drove of turkeys to the same market. On the return trip he would carry the money in saddle bags and no precaution was necessary to guard against thieves. People were so honest that upon arriving at a settler's cabin for the night the men would throw the saddle bags filled with money down on the floor in a comer of the cabin and pay no more attention to it, until ready to leave the next morning. When he arrived home, Mr. Hibler would distribute the money among the neighbors. In 1855, he settled in Henry County, and during the early days made frequent trips to Kansas, engaged in the cattle business. He purchased a farm, located just a mile north of where Joe Hibler now lives, in Walker township. His first home was a log cabin. He prospered as a farmer and stockman and in later years bought a home at Eldorado Springs, Missouri. He died in 1900 at Lamar, Missouri. Henry Hibler was three times married; his first wife was Nancy McQueen, who died in 1851, leaving children as follows: Samuel died in the Confederate service while a soldier in the Civil War; Mrs. Lottie Fisher, Walker township; Joseph F., subject of this review; Frank, a bachelor living on his brother's farm; Mrs. Susie March, a widow living in Davis township. His second wife was Mrs. Pliney Parks who died in 1857, leaving three children by a first marriage: Ann, Arthur, and Sallie Parks. His third wife was Mrs. Mary Harper, mother of two children by her first marriage: John Shelley, died at Dallas, Texas, in 1916; Lizzie Shelley, living in Oklahoma; and William T., Samuel, Walter and Annie Hibler.
In 1870, Joseph F. Hibler began life for himself upon seventy acres of land which his father gave him. He improved this tract as best he could at the time, building a slab fence around the farm and carrying the slabs one-fourth of a mile on his shoulders. He also built some rail fence which was later supplanted by a hedge fence which he set out. He has created a beautiful farm from prairie land and has an attractive place of 111 acres on Camp Branch Creek adjacent to the Hopewell Church in Walker township.
Mr. Hibler was married in 1870 to Cordelia, a daughter of Samuel Wilson, a pioneer of Henry County, concerning whom the reader is referred to the sketch of Judge William M. Wilson in this volume.
Five children have blessed this marriage: Mattie, wife of Charles Pfost, resides near Cheyenne Wells, Colorado; Mildred, wife of Ellis Greenhalge, Walker township; Riley Amos lives in Kansas; Henry Wilson, lives in Kansas City; and John, deceased.
Mr. Hibler has consistently voted the Democratic ticket since attaining his majority. He and Mrs. Hibler are members of the Hopewell Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
David Wesley Clark - Lovers of the picturesque would take delight in climbing the hill whereon the lifetime home of David Wesley Clark of Deepwater township is located. A picturesque home, a part of which is the original log cabin built by David Clark, his father, long ago, is situated upon one of the highest points in Henry County, and is surrounded by large cedar trees. Twenty miles away the church spires and the court house dome of Clinton can be seen. The city of Butler also twenty miles distant to the west can be seen on a clear day. Other towns in the neighborhood can be seen. David Wesley Clark was born in Deepwater township, in the Clark log cabin, February 17, 1863, and is the son of David Clark.
David Clark, the elder, was born in Virginia, near Richmond, May 12, 1825, and died April 22, 1911. He was the son of Joseph Clark. David, Sr., came to Missouri in 1853 and entered forty acres of the land now owned by his son, David Wesley, built a cabin and resided thereon until his death. His wife was Sarah Jackson, born in Lafayette County, Missouri, where David had located with his father in 1840. Prior to coming to Henry County, they had lived in Lafayette and Johnson counties.
Sarah Clark was born in 1835 and died January 22, 1890. There were nine children in the Clark family, eight of whom are living: J. W., Louisa, Sarah Elizabeth, Lucy Ann, deceased; David Wesley, Mary E., Charles M., Lillian, Louis Bennett. David Clark was a highly respected citizen of Henry County and was well and favorably known in his home neighborhood. He served in the Missouri State Troops during the Civil War and was in many hard-fought battles.
Born and reared on the Clark homestead, David Wesley Clark has spent all of his days on the farm. He is the owner of 140 acres of land which is situated in the exact center of section 16 and adjoins the Dahlman land on the north, both farms being reached by a private roadway. He was first married to Rebecca J. Hardy, October 1, 1890, who bore him two children: Lena, Montrose, Missouri; and David, at home with his father. Mrs. Rebecca J. Clark departed this life September 16, 1908. Mr. Clark's second marriage occurred December 25, 1911, to Mrs. Ellen Chisham, a widow, and mother of two children: Eunola, wife of Frank Schaifer, living in Kansas; and William Chisham, a farmer in Deepwater township.
Mr. Clark is a Republican, and is of that kindly, intelligent, type of Missourian of the old school who possesses so many excellent qualities which makes and retains friends for all time He loves his county, his State, his neighbors, his home and his fellowmen.
Gerhart Anton Dahlman - The late Gerhart Anton Dahlman of Deepwater township was born in Westphalia, Germany, February 2, 1832, and departed this life at his home near Germantown, June 1, 1910. He was the son of Herman and Mary Ann Dahlman who lived all of their lives in the land of their birth. Accompanied by his sister, Mrs. Henry Kalwei, Mr. Dahlman emigrated from Germany in 1869 and arrived at Germantown, Henry County, Missouri, in May, 1869. He stayed at Germantown for nine years and was employed by Anton Mucke and Joseph Schmedding.
He purchased his farm in 1872 and moved a house from Germantown to his farm. In 1878 he returned to Germany for his sweetheart, to whom he was married in 1878, and at once set sail for his home in America. He married Annie Marie Krimphoff, who was born in Westphalia, Germany, September 2, 1855, the daughter of Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Renekamp) Krimphoff, both of whom spent all of their lives in Germany.
The father died in 1880 and the mother in 1877. Mr. Dahlman was ably assisted in the work of improving his farm by his devoted wife who assisted him in the farm work, set out trees, hedges, and vines and they created a beautiful home. The Dahlman farm consists of eighty acres with thirteen acres of timber land in addition.
The children born to Gerhart Anton and Annie Marie Dahlman are as follows: Elizabeth, born July 3, 1879, married 1899 to Robert Teeman, and has three children, Augusta, Richard, and Viola. Mrs. Dahlman has an adopted son, William Dahlman, born July 25, 1891, married September 28, 1915, to Lorena Minnich, the daughter of George and Ora (Bradburn) Minnich, and granddaughter of William Minnich, a pioneer who stood guard at Germantown during the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Dahlman have one child, Martha Ann, born February 22, 1917.
For some years or since the death of Mr. Dahlman, William has been managing the farm in the interest of his foster mother and has become a very successful farmer. The Dahlman land is underlaid with a vein of coal which has been mined for several years. The place is known as "The Fairview Farm," on account of the magnificent view of the surrounding country, which can be seen from the home. Mr. Dahlman, the younger, is a member of the Catholic Church, is a Republican, and belongs to Montrose Council No. 525, Knights of Columbus. He is an industrious, intelligent, well read young man who is a great reader and student who keeps himself well informed upon the events which are happening in the world today.
Gerhart Anton Dahlman was one of the best of men and a highly respected citizen of the Germantown neighborhood. He loved his home and family and was a devout Catholic. No Henry County citizen is more worthy of representation in a history of his home county than Mr. Dahlman.
