CHAPTER XXVII (Part 49)
BIOGRAPHICAL
Oscar A. Mitchell - Fifty-two years ago, the Mitchell family came to Henry County from Wisconsin and settled on the prairie west of Clinton in Davis township. The first home of the family was a two-room log cabin, built of logs cut from the timber along the banks of Grana River, hauled to the site of the cabin and hewn by Abner H. Mitchell. This sufficed for the family home until the present commodious Mitchell home was built.
Oscar A. Mitchell was born in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, November 18, 1855, and is the son of Abner H. and Olive (Vesey) Mitchell, who were natives of Lake County, Ohio, and came of American pioneer stock.
Not long after their marriage in Lake County, Abner H. Mitchell and wife left their native Ohio County and settled in the wilds of Wisconsin where Mr. Mitchell cleared a home from the dense forests of Sheboygan County and improved a fine farm. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the First Wisconsin Regiment and served for six months until his discharge from the service on account of sick disability. In April of 1866, he sold his Wisconsin farm and came to Henry County, where he purchased a tract of unbroken prairie land which he improved and resided upon but a few brief years, dying in 1874. The wife and mother died in 1914. There were two sons and two daughters born to Abner H. and Olive Mitchell, as follows: Willis L., who resides upon the home place and cultivates the farm in partnership with his brother Oscar A.; Oscar A., subject of this review; Ella Anne, died in Henry County; Viola S., wife of C. W. Horrell, Clinton, Missouri.
Oscar A. Mitchell was eleven years old when his parents settled in Henry County. His schooling was obtained in a log school house. He began work on the farm at an early age and was capable and ambitious to get along in the world. He and his brother, Willis L., purchased their present farm of 420 acres in 1890 and have been partners continuously with the exception of six years which the elder brother spent in Idaho where he was engaged in ranching and mining. The Mitchell brothers are excellent farmers and are successful breeders of Shorthorn cattle and horses.
Mr. Mitchell was married in 1888 to Miss Susan B. Alexander, who was born in Birksville, Kentucky, a daughter of Paul and Elizabeth Alexander, natives of Kentucky, who came to Henry County in 1881 and died here. Paul Alexander departed this life in 1917. His wife died in 1911.
Mr. and Mrs. Oscar A. Mitchell have two children, Mary, the elder, is at home with her parents. Paul William Mitchell, the younger, was born March 14, 1891, and enlisted in the United States Navy December 10, 1917, was mustered into the service February, 1918. In June, 1918, he was assigned to the U. S. S. Marblehead.
Mr. Mitchell is a Republican and he and his family are members of the Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America.
Thomas R. Bowen - The mining industry has been an important one in Henry County for many years and received a pronounced impetus in the late seventies when Richard Bowen came to the county, an experienced coal miner who had spent the greater part of his life in the mining region of the Eastern States and who was skilled in the mining industry. Mines have been developed in many sections of Henry County with profit to the owners, and have brought wealth to the various communities. The Bowens, father and sons, John and Thomas R. Bowen, have for years been the leading figures in coal mining in this section of western Missouri and the mining town of Bowen, located west of Windsor, was founded and built up by this firm. It has mined and shipped thousands of tons of coal from the various fields in which they have been operating. Since the abnormal demands for coal, and more coal, which has taxed the mining resources of the country beyond their capacity and also overtaxed the railroads of the country to haul the fuel to the various centers in order to meet the great demand for fuel needed to keep the wheels of industry going for war needs, the Bowens have been doing their part in assisting the work of fuel supply.
Thomas R. Bowen, coal mine operator and dealer, Windsor, Missouri, was born at Lonaconing, Maryland, May 26, 1875, the son of Richard and Elizabeth (Thompson) Bowen, concerning whom an account is given in connection with the sketch of John Bowen, in this volume. Thomas R. Bowen is the youngest of nine children, born to his parents. Richard Bowen came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1876 and engaged in coal mining. For years he was a successful coal operator in the vicinity of Windsor and now residing in Kansas City, Missouri.
Thomas R. Bowen was educated in the Clinton Academy and naturally took up the vocation of his father and became a miner and operator of coal mines. He became interested in the business with his father and brother and has become well-to-do. He is the individual owner of land in Missouri and Kansas.
On September 5, 1895, Thomas R. Bowen and Nellie Jennings were united in marriage. To this union has been born one child, Frances, born July 27, 1907.
Mr. Bowen is a stockholder and a director of the First National Bank of Windsor and the Clinton National Bank of Clinton. Missouri, and is rated as one of the leading financial citizens of Henry County.
Walter G. Davis, city attorney of Windsor, Missouri, was born in Clinton, Henry County, December 30, 1878, and has become one of the leading members of the bar of Henry County during the sixteen years in the practice of his profession in the thriving city of Windsor. He is the son of William H. and Alice G. (Garton) Davis, a sketch of whom appears in this volume.
Walter G. Davis was educated in the public schools of Windsor and the Missouri University at Columbia, graduating from the latter institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1902. Being admitted to the practice of law, he at once began his profession at Windsor and has been very successful, occupying a leading place among the lawyers of Henry County and western Missouri.
November 17, 1903, Walter G. Davis and Miss Effie Burcham of Benton County, Missouri, were united in marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have two children: Marjorie, aged nine years; Josephine, aged six years.
The Democratic party has always had the support of Mr. Davis and he has served for the past fourteen years as city attorney with a few intervening spaces of time. He is a director of the Farmers Bank and is secretary of the board of directors of this institution and president of the board of directors of Windsor school district, also is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Robert E. Major, cashier of the Farmers Bank of Windsor, Missouri, is a native of his home city. He was born February 17, 1865, and is the son of the late Reuben Major, long a prominent and worthy citizen of Windsor.
Reuben Major was born in Shelby County, Kentucky, April 7, 1825, and died at his home in Windsor, Missouri, March 8, 1913. During his younger days, he learned the trade of plasterer and later became a fanner.
He removed with his parents to Calloway County, Missouri, in 1827 and resided in that county where he was reared amid pioneer surroundings, until 1853, and then came to Henry County, locating in the town of Windsor. He resided in Windsor and vicinity until his death. He was closely identified with the up-building and growth of the city and assisted in the organization of the Windsor Savings Bank, the first bank ever instituted in Windsor, and was the nominal cashier of this bank for some years after its organization. His wife was Nancy Duncan, prior to her marriage with Mr. Major. She was born in Boone County, Missouri, November 23, 1835, and departed this life in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Major were parents of three children: J. W. Major, auto salesman, Windsor, Missouri; Robert E. Major, subject of this sketch; and Orah A., wife of Bert Richardson, Berkeley, California.
Reared in the city of Windsor, his school days were followed by employment in a local shoe store in which Robert E. Major began his active career in 1882. When the Farmers Bank was organized, in 1890, he became connected with the organization and in 1893, he was elected cashier of this bank. The success which has attended the Farmers Bank since Mr. Major first assisted in its organization has been largely due to his initiative, his pronounced financial ability, courtesy of demeanor, and his popularity as a banker and citizen.
September 10, 1884, Robert E. Major and Miss Sarah A. Schwab were united in marriage. Mrs. Sarah A. Major was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, March 14, 1865, the daughter of Samuel Schwab, a native of Switzerland, who first located in Ohio and from there came to Windsor in 1867. He was one of the first shoe merchants to establish a shoe and boot-making shop in the city, and he also established one of the first shoe stores which he conducted for many years. Mr. Schwab learned the trade of boot and shoe maker in his native land. He died in Windsor at the age of 70 years. His wife, prior to her marriage with Mr. Schwab, was Sarah Burrier, a native of Ohio.
Four children have been born to Robert E. and Sarah A. Major, as follows: Catherine, at home with her parents; F. Lee, a state bank examiner in Arkansas; Mary, wife of Frank Douglas, Joplin, Missouri; Schwab S., born November 14, 1893, enlisted for service in the Regular Army in 1915 and was transferred in 1917 to the Aviation Corps, as lieutenant, and is now a member of the Aviation Corps.
Mr. Major has always been allied with the Democratic party and is a firm believer in Democratic principles of government. He was elected to a membership upon the Windsor board of education in 1904 and is now serving as treasurer of that body, having been a continuous member of the board since his first election. While a member of the board of education he has consistently favored and furthered the cause of education in Windsor in every manner possible and has become known for his progressive ideas in regard to the proper education of the youth of the city. He is a member of the Baptist Church, of which he is a deacon.
