CHAPTER XXVII (Part 67)
BIOGRAPHICAL
James S. Thomas - The history of Henry County is founded on the histories of those intrepid men and women who came to her fertile lands when the buffalo and wild deer were unmolested in their native haunts. When the slow ox team was the safest and fastest means of locomotion, and neighbors few and far between. The homes were hewed from the native logs and the clearing plowed to plant the corn and wheat. Among such surroundings James S. Thomas was born March 21, 1856, the son of Cornelius and Sarah (Neathery) Thomas.
Cornelius Thomas was born in Virginia August 12, 1813, and was reared in Cumberland and Clinton Counties, Kentucky, where his parents lived during his childhood. Cornelius Thomas was married to Sarah Neathery, who was born in Clinton County, Kentucky, November 23, 1823. In 1844, they left their home in Kentucky and by steamship came up the Missouri river to Lexington, Missouri, where they loaded their household effects and farm machinery, such as it was, upon ox driven wagons. Upon their arrival in Tebo township they commenced their home building and Mr. Thomas was kept very busy in clearing the land and reclaiming it for the production of the corn and wheat which has placed Missouri in the front ranks of States excelling in the production of foodstuffs.
Cornelius Thomas did a great deal of carpenter work and helped the incoming settlers in erecting their buildings and was away from his family over many days and weeks at a time. During the Civil War, the conditions were very hard for those left at home as well as for those at the front, but the men and women, by strict economy braved those stressful times and continued after the war in the rebuilding of the farms and homes. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas lived to see the results of their early struggles and enjoy the pleasures of peace and plenty in later years. Mr. Thomas was laid away May 15, 1876, and his wife survived him until February 12, 1898. They were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living, as follows: Elizabeth, resides with her brother, James; Exeoney, wife of Esley Hornbarger, living in Big Creek township; Martha A., widow of F. Land at Rockyford, Colorado; Harriet F., widow of W. M. McBride, Fort Morgan, Colorado; James, subject of this sketch; Walter, farmer of Tebo township; Charles, Denver, Colorado; Nannie, wife of Seymour S. Morgan, Juneau, Alaska.
James Thomas was reared and educated in Tebo township and knows every crook and cranny of his farm, as it has been his home all of his life. He began his farming career very young, as he was only nine years of age when he, with the help of an older brother, plowed, his brother guided the plow and he drove the oxen.
In 1890, Mr. Thomas commenced to buy the land of his present farm from the heirs and in 1898, it was all his own, consisting of 180 acres. He has since added 206 acres, making 386 acres in all. March 8, 1899, James Thomas and Addie McAfoose were married and have two children: Winona, born August 16, 1902, and Arthur, born June 9, 1909. Mrs. Thomas was born September 6, 1874, in Henry County, the daughter of Daniel and Maggie (King) McAfoose. They were natives of Pennsylvania and came to Henry County in 1868. They lived in Lewis Station and are now deceased.
Mr. Thomas has raised great numbers of hogs and cattle for the market but has not raised so many in recent times. He owns 386 acres of land, twenty acres of which is in the natural timber. He is a stockholder of the Calhoun Elevator and also a stockholder in the packing plant at Sedalia, Missouri. He fraternizes with the Modern Woodmen of America, located at Calhoun, Missouri, and politically is a Democrat.
James England - Henry County is dotted with coal mines from east to west and from north to south. There are many men employed in this industry. Some of the owners have a number of mines in operation, others only a few, but wherever they are men are kept employed the year around, mining this needful fuel. James England operates two mines near Deepwater, Missouri, in Clinton township. He was born November 24, 1862, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William England and Sarah (Eccles) England. William England was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1837 and in 1857 sailed from his native shores to the United States.
From the Mississippi Valley, he set out afoot to the western part of Wyoming. He spent eighteen months in that vast wild unexplored land. Then, after many exciting experiences with the Indians, and no shelter over his head but the stars, he made his return trip on foot again, locating in St. Louis, afterward moving to Bellville, Illinois, where he made his home until 1885, when he came to Henry County, Missouri, locating four miles east of Clinton. He made improvements on the land which he purchased, and developed the mine of coal, which is still being operated.
He was married to Sarah Eccles in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a native of Staffordshire, England, born in 1840. Her parents emigrated to this country in 1847, locating near Council Bluffs, Iowa, later moving to St. Louis. She passed away in 1889 and her husband in 1907. They had the following children: James, the subject of this sketch; William, Joseph, Edmund, Sarah Jane, Elizabeth Ann and Mary, all living on the old home farm except Mary, who departed this life in 1904, being the wife of James H. Cheatham at the time of her death.
James England received his education in Bellville, Illinois, and in company with his father had become interested in coal mining. After his marriage on June 28, 1884, to Hannah Jervis, who was born May 1, 1863, in Derbyshire, England, the young couple came to Henry County and located near Deepwater, Missouri. They are the parents of four children: Mary, a teacher of the Powersville, Missouri, school. She graduated from the Deepwater High School, Warrensburg Normal and was a student of Missouri University. Miss England was superintendent of the Powersville school and favorably known by Uel Lamkin, editor and author of this history. William C. and Harry are assisting their father in the work of the coal mines; Lillian, wife of Earl Huey, makes her home in Deepwater, Missouri. Mr. England is the owner of 117 acres of well improved land which he farms in connection with his mining interests. He leases 200 acres of land for the mining operations, in which he has two coal mines, employing thirty men. Mr. England is an independent Republican in his politics. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Walter Clifton is a well known and successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle who is farming 156 acres of land in Clinton township. This land was homesteaded by his parents, James and Mary (Clifton) Clifton before the Civil War. James Clifton was born December 25, 1819, in South Carolina, and his wife was born in the same State January 5, 1824. They were the parents of ten children. Walter Clifton, whose name introduces this review, is the only living member of this large family.
Mr. and Mrs. Clifton lived in Perry County, Missouri, where they were employed in farming and dealt in cattle previous to coming to Henry County. They homesteaded 160 acres in Clinton township, clearing the land of its native timber and building their log cabin in the clearing, where the sons and daughters were reared. Mr. Clifton would buy large lots of hogs and cattle and drive them across country to St. Louis, Missouri, for the eastern markets. On his return trip he brought freight for the settlers. Mr. Clifton was a public spirited citizen and ever eager to lend his influence to the organizations which were an uplift to the community. He was a charter member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Clinton. He passed away in Henry County January 15, 1879. His wife, who was born in South Carolina January 5, 1824, survived him nearly twenty years, passing away February 5, 1899. They were devout members of the Methodist Church.
Walter Clifton was born in St. Louis, Missouri, August 5, 1863, on one of the trips that his parents made to St. Louis with their cattle. His life was spent upon the farm and he was educated in the district school. His first employment as a farm hand netted him fifty cents a day and he often cut broom corn for seventy-five cents a day.
After his parents' death Mr. Clifton purchased the home place from the other heirs and built all new buildings in accordance with the modern needs. In 1916, he started his herd of Shorthorn cattle and expects to specialize in this breed.
Walter Clifton married Miss Anna Neil November 21, 1894. She is the daughter of Alex and Augusta (Haraagel) Neil, the former a native of Iowa and the latter of Germany, coming to the United States with her parents when she was an infant. They are now retired and live at La Due, Missouri. Mrs. Clifton was born April 7, 1873, in Upton, Missouri, and was educated in the schools of this State. Mr. Clifton is a Democrat and a member of the Christian Church. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
