His education came from the local schools, and as a boy he was hired out
to others and had a thorough experience as a farm workman. The little
homestead in Illinois on which the family lived comprised eighty acres.
Mr. Ward lived there until about 1879 and after selling the Illinois land
came to Northwest Missouri.
Mr. Ward has 240 acres in Holt County, and when he first settled on
it, it had no improvements. His mother lived with him until her death.
Mr. Ward married Catherine Cottier, daughter of Thomas Cottier, one
of the oldest and best known early settlers of Holt County. To their
union have been born five children : Walter D., born January 5, 1883 ;
Thomas C, born Februarv 8, 1885 ; Minerva, born July 25, 1890 ; Clifford
G., born October 18, 1893 ; and Harold C, born January 12, 1896. All
the children were born in Holt County, received their education in the
local schools, and are now useful members of society. At the time of
their marriage Mrs. Ward's father gave them 120 acres of land,
1548 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
unimproved, on which they located and improved the same, also
adding to it another 120 acres. All the improvements have been made by-
Mr. Ward. In 1913 his house of seven rooms and contents burned to the
ground, causing a loss of about four thousand dollars, with small insur-
ance. But the same year he rebuilt his present residence at a cost of
about thirty-five hundred dollars, a modern house of nine rooms.
The family worship in the Christian Church. Mr. Ward has taken
an active part in local affairs, for a number of years has served on the
school board, and while originally a republican in politics, with his father
a whig voter before him, has recently become a democrat.
John G-. Fries. The great Empire State has contributed in large
degree to the citizenship of Northwest Missouri, and those who claim New
York as the place of their birth have, as a rule, been found to be men of
industry, ability and energetic nature. All, however, have not met with
the success that has attended the efforts of John G. Fries, who is accounted
one of the leading farmers of Holt County, and the owner of 250 acres of
land in Benton Township. When he first came to Northwest Missouri,
Mr. Fries was possessed of little save his native industry and determina-
tion, but through intelligent and well-directed effort he has steadily ad-
vanced himself to a position of substantiality among the men of his
adopted community.
John G. Fries was born November 14, 1850, at Callicoon, Sullivan
County, New York, and is a son of George and Minnie Fries, natives of
Germany. The parents of Mr. Fries emigrated to the United States and
were married in New York. They settled at Callicoon, New York, where
the rest of their lives was passed in the pursuits of the soil. One of a
family of eleven children, John G. Fries secured a common school educa-
tion in his native state and grew up amid agricultural surroundings, so
that it was but natural that he should adopt farming as his life work.
He was still a young man when, with his brothers, he sought the broader
opportunities of the West, coming to Northwest Missouri and settling
in Holt County, near the Village of Oregon. The brothers settled on a
tract of 250 acres of raw land, on which there had been made no im-
provements, and through hard and industrious labor converted it into a
valuable and productive property. Later their interests were divided
and John G. Fries went to Atchison County, Missouri, where he pur-
chased a modest property and as the years passed added to it from time
to time until he had a large and valuable farm, on which he made many
improvements. He eventually became satisfied that Holt County offered
a better field for his labors, and in 1913 he returned to this county, taking
up his residence in Benton Township, not far from Mound City. Here
he has continued to be engaged in general farming and feeding stock, and
through good management, a thorough knowledge of modern agricultural
methods and tireless perseverance, has put 250 acres of land under a high
state of cultivation and is accounted one of his community's substantial
men. He has made many improvements of an up-to-date character and
his farm reflects his industry and ability, his buildings are commodious
and substantial, and his stock well fed and content. He has 340 acres of
land in Dale Township, Atchison County, Missouri, in addition to his
250 in Holt County, and is a general farmer and stock raiser. His busi-
ness ability has enabled Mr. Fries to secure the best of prices in the local
markets for his product, and those who have had business transactions
with him know him as a strictly reliable and honorable man of business.
While he is not a politician, he takes a keen interest in those things which
affect the welfare of his community, and may be counted upon to support
good and beneficial movements.
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI 1549
Mr. Fries was married to Miss Rosa Brown, who was born in Henry
County, Indiana, a daughter of Isaac Brown, their union being solem-
nized October 11, 1884. Mr. Brown was one of Henry County's promi-
nent citizens, serving as justice of the peace and township trustee for a
number of years, and was the father of three daughters and four sons.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fries, all in Atchison
County, namely : Sarah Sylvia, Mammie N., John J. and Lawrence.
Mrs. Fries is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, like her
husband, is widely and favorably known in Benton Township.
David F. Romine. A worthy representative of a sturdy pioneer
family of Holt County, Missouri, is found in the person of David F.
Romine, who is now carrying on successful agricultural operations on
the old homestead place in Bigelow (now Minton) Township. Here he
has spent his entire career, and while he is still in the prime of man-
hood, he has witnessed some remarkable changes and developments in
this agricultural region. Mr. Romine was born on the farm on which
he now resides, February 20, 1872, and is a son of George and Mar-
guerite (Martin) Romine.
George Romine was born of honorable parents who were in modest
financial circumstances, and during his boyhood was forced to undergo
numerous hardships and to give up many of the pleasures which the
average American youth considers his birthright. Reared in a farming
community, he labored in the fields and secured such educational ad-
vantages as the district schools afforded in the winter months, and thus
continued until the outbreak of the Civil war aroused his patriotism and
he enlisted for service as a private in an Indiana regiment of volunteers.
When the war had closed, spent with his long and arduous service, Mr.
Romine looked for a field in which his labors might bear fruit, and
eventually deciding upon Missouri as a promising locality, came to this
state in 1866 and settled on an unimproved farm in Holt County. Here,
with his young wife, he resolutely set to work to conquer the unpromising
conditions. The first shelter for the family was a one-room cabin, the
one room serving as dining-room, living-room and bedroom, to which a
small lean-to kitchen was later added, which, to the mind of the young
mother, made this a most wonderful home. The energetic and industrious
labors of the couple soon were rewarded, however, and a more pretentious
residence was built, this being followed by various other buildings, each
erected according to the increase in the owner's prosperity. A man of
exceptional native talent, George Romine was not alone able to improve
and cultivate his farm and to place himself as a substantial citizen
among the farmers of Bigelow Township, but found the time and the
inclination to assist in movements for the public welfare, and never
refused his support to those enterprises which his judgment told him
were for the general good. During his lifetime he accumulated 320
acres of valuable land, all through his own unaided efforts, and this
was gained through the most honorable dealing, so that no person of his
community had aught but well to say of him. When he died, at the age
of fifty-six years, Bigelow Township lost one of its best and most public-
spirited men. A republican in politics, he was not a seeker for public
preferment, but for twenty years rendered most valuable service as a
member of the school board. He had put in his application for entrance
into Masonry, but died just prior to taking his degree. Mr. Romine was
married in Washington County, Missouri, to Miss Marguerite Martin,
who survives him, and they became the parents of four children : Cora,
who became the wife of John Scott ; Charley, who is deceased ; one child
who died in infancy; and David F.
Tol. Ill— 17
1550 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
David F. Romine attended the public schools of Bigelow Township,
and has passed his entire career on the property which he now occupies.
He has continued the work commenced by his father, and through an
intelligent use of modern methods has been able to achieve a gratifying
success. His farm presents an attractive appearance, the house being
painted white, while the barns and outbuildings are red, and everything
about the place denotes the presence of able management. Mr. Romine
is a republican, but is a modest and unassuming man and has not sought
the doubtful honors to be found in the political arena.
Mr. Romine married Miss Ida Hutchinson, daughter of A. C. Hutchin-
son, of Holt County. They have no children.
R. C. Brownlee. The Bank of Fortescue, though recently estab-
lished, has already made a record for the successful handling of finances
and through the personnel of its officers and directors has furnished a
substantial service to the business community in that section of Holt
County. The bank opened its doors for business in July, 1914, and
occupies a small frame building near the depot. The executive officers
and directors of the institution are as follows : A. W. Van Camp, presi-
dent; John E. Slater, vice president; R. C. Brownlee, cashier; George
W. Hinkle, J. F. Iden, George H. Minton, J. E. Alkire. Mr. Van Camp,
the president, has long been one of the substantial business men in the
vicinity of Fortescue, is a large owner of farm property, and was actively
engaged in farming, and has served as county judge. The bank was
organized under a state charter, with a capital of $10,000. It offers a
general banking service to the community.
R. C. Brownlee, the cashier, has active charge of the institution, and
has lived in Fortescue since the bank started. Mr. Brownlee comes from
Horton, Kansas, where he was born and educated, and was a student
for a time in the University of Kansas. Mr. Brownlee gained his ex-
perience as a banker at the Bank of Horton, and his father, John W.
Brownlee, is a farmer and president of the Horton Bank. R. C. Brown-
lee married Maud L. Clem, daughter of Daniel Clem of Horton. Mr.
Brownlee is affiliated with the Masonic order at Horton, Kansas.
John F. Iden. A resident of Holt County nearly fifty years since
early childhood, John F. Iden has the material accumulations and in-
terests of the thoroughly successful man of affairs. In his early years he
went through all the arduous toil necessary to clear off the forest and
prepare the land for cultivation, and from his success as a farmer has
broadened his interests to include extensive land holdings and relations
with banking and other business enterprises.
John F. Iden was born in Platte County, Missouri, near the City of
Atchison, Kansas, May 24, 1862. His parents were George "W. and
Nancy L. (Yocum) Iden, who were married in Platte County. One of
the seven children is now deceased. In 1866 the family moved to Holt
County, and the father died here when the son, John P., was twelve
years of age. The first location was on the farm now owned by John F.
Iden. Some time after George "W. Iden had taken possession, it turned
out that the previous occupant's possession was based upon "a squatter's
right," and that title had never been properly acquired from the
Government. Thus George "W. Iden had to buy the farm a second time,
and its title now is directly validated by the Government. The land
was entirely unimproved when the family located there, and the greater
part was covered with heavy timber, some of the trees measuring from
six to seven feet in diameter. There were a few rude buildings on the
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI 1551
farm, but the commodious and well arranged structures now found there
are the result of Mr. John F. Iden's enterprise.
Mr. Iden was married to Sarah R. Edwards, daughter of Hay den
Edwards. They have one child, Zetha Maud, who was born October
28, 1896.
In his home place Mr. Iden has ninety-six acres, besides 110 acres
west of Bigelow and twenty acres next to the river. Some years ago he
was one of the organizers of the bank at Forteseue and is still serving as
one of its directors, and later bought the grain elevator at Forteseue,
and is now engaged in the grain business and coal and implement trade
at Forteseue. Mr. Iden was formerly a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and his mother was a devout adherent of that church.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
at Mound City and the Modern Woodmen of America. He has served
as road overseer and director of the school board. His politics is demo-
cratic, though his father was' a republican.
Guy Jones is one of the reliable and industrious farmers and stock-
raisers of Holt County, classed with the rising generation of agricultur-
ists, who are acknowledged to be as broad and scientific in their methods
and as fruitful in valuable results to the community as the workers in
any other branch of modern industry. At the present time Mr. Jones is
engaged in the cultivation of 640 acres of fine land in Bigelow Township,
a large part of which is devoted to pasture, where he raises large herds
of thoroughbred cattle, in addition to which he feeds and ships hogs. He
is well known to the people of his community as a progressive and
energetic citizen, who can at all times be depended upon to support
beneficial measures.
Mr. Jones was born in the vicinity of Big Lake, Holt County, Missouri,
May 30, 1882, and is a son of Henry and Julia (Chaney) Jones, who
are living on an adjoining farm to that occupied by their son. Henry
Jones came to Missouri from the East at an early date, and here
for many years has followed the pursuits of the soil, being accounted
a substantial farmer and helpful citizen of this progressive section of
Northwest Missouri. Guy Jones was given a good education in the
public schools, and this was supplemented by attendance at a business
college, where he took a commercial course. He is the only child of his
parents, although by his father's previous marriage, to Lucinda Green,
he has two half-sisters, Minnie and Addie. Mr. Jones was brought up
on the farm and thoroughly trained by his father in the various methods
of successfully conducting agricultural operations, so that he arrived
at man's estate well fitted to enter upon a career of his own. He
remained, however, under the parental* roof until the time of his mar-
riage, in 1907, when he moved to his present farm of 640 acres, where
he has continued to make his home, having developed it into one of the
most valuable and attractive country places in this part of the county.
The improvements have all been made under his supervision, the barns
and sheds are of modern construction, well equipped within and with-
out, roofed with tin and furnishing excellent facilities for the feeding
of cattle, and the home, while not large, is well kept up and attractive.
The buildings are well arranged, and everything about the place suggests
the presence of able and intelligent management. While Mr. Jones
has done some general farming, the greater part of his attention has
been devoted to feeding and shipping stock, chiefly Hereford cattle and
Duroc-Jersey hogs. His efforts have met with a most gratifying suc-
cess, and he* is justly named as a business man of more than ordinarily
keen perceptions. In political matters he is a democrat, but his activi-
1552 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
ties iu public life have not extended beyond that interest which is felt
by every good citizen in the welfare of his community. Fraternally he
is connected with the Woodmen of the World, and also is prominent
in Masonry, having attained the Shriner degree and being a member of
the Temple at St. Joseph. Mrs. Jones is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Mr. Jones was married in 1907 to Miss Hazel Spellman, of Mound
City, Missouri, daughter of Mathew and Elizabeth (McRoberts) Spell-
man, who came to Missouri from Canada. Mrs. Jones has one brother and
one sister : Earl, who married Anna Evans and is a resident of St.
Joseph ; and Grace, who is single.
Platt Hubbell, the senior member of the firm of Hubbel Brothers, at
Trenton, Missouri, was born in Myers Township of Grundy Couuty
on January 12, 1870.
His father was the late Loring W. Hubbell, who was born in Tren-
ton Township of Grundy County, December 18, 1815.
The Hubbell family in America has a continuous record of lineage
going back to Richard Hubbell, who was born in England in 1627, and
on coming to America settled at Fairfield, Connecticut. There is a book
entitled "History of the Hubbell Family," showing that men of that
name have had a modest part in the work of developing this nation.
The late Loring AV. Hubbell was educated in the public schools of
Grundy County, and when he was a young man commenced teaching,
a vocation to which he devoted the best years of his life, although at
the same time he was a farmer. Finally he located in the City of
Trenton, and operated in real estate and insurance until his death on
August 18, 1913. The position he held in the community can best be
described in the words of a review which appeared in the Trenton Daily
Republican at the time of his death :
"Loring W. Hubbell lacked little of living the allotted period of
three score and ten, being just sixty-seven years and eight months of
age on August 18, the day of his death. Born and reared in Grundy
County, he never sought to change his place of residence. He died
within a quarter of a mile of the spot where he was born. During his
latter years his bodily infirmities kept him from taking part in the
active affairs of life. As the world views it, be never sought position,
place or power. He chose to cultivate the modest yet endearing graces
of mind and heart, rather than to attempt the achievements which men
applaud. His most pronounced trait of character was his advocacy of
the importance of education. He believed that the mind and soul are
so inseparably intertwined that the cultivation of the mind is one step
in the direction of cultivating the soul in the immortality of which he
firmly believed. He has often quoted the words of Plato, 'A house
that has a library in it has a soul.' This trait of his character is illus-
trated by the fact that when a young man he taught school and for
several terms taught a Bible class in the Christian Church, of which
he was a member. He helped his own children to get a practical educa-
tion, thus benefitting them more than if he had left them a vast estate
without an education. In the active part of his life he did what he could
to increase the efficiency of the public schools. Until his eyesight failed
he was a habitual reader, and thus kept in touch with current events.
In his early life he was an industrious student and received a liberal
education. In his student days he saw the leading artists of the opera
and the drama on whose attainments he was pleased to dwell. He
advocated fraternity among men. as witnessed by his membership in the
Knights of Pythias. He made his life useful by doing the plain, un-
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI 1553
pretentious things which helped others. For instance, he took a leading
part in preserving the burial places of the dead. He said, 'If we love
the living we will provide a suitable resting place for their earthly
remains.' 'If we love the dead we will preserve their graves as sacred
shrines. ' His ever patient and cheerful disposition endeared him to all
who knew him. To his immediate family earth cannot replace the loss
of him."
The late Loring AV. Hubbell married Nannie M. Browning. Her
father, John M. Browning, was born in Kentucky, and from that state
in 1858 came to Missouri accompanied by his family, their journey being
made across the country with teams and wagons. He located in what
is now Myers Township of Grundy County, and bought land six miles
east of Spickard. He there built a log house, which served his family
as a home for several years. He was successful as a farmer, added to
his land and improved his home, planted a good many fruit trees and
surrounded himself with all the comforts of rural life. He served as a
soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, Mr. Browning mar-
ried Jane McBride Ewing, who was born in Kentucky and who survived
her husband some years. They reared several children. Nannie M.
Hubbell died March 19, 1905, and a brief estimate of her life was given
in a Trenton paper, which will be appropriately quoted herewith :
"Nannie M. Hubbell was born on February 2, 1853, near Sherburne,
in Fleming County, Kentucky. Her maiden name was Nannie Metcalf
Browning. With her parents she came to Grundy County, Missouri,
when she was a little girl. Though only a child when she removed from
Kentucky, she vividly recalled and fondly cherished the men and mem-
ories of her native state. She became a member of the Christian Church
when quite young, and ever afterward remained an earnest toiler in
the vineyard of righteousness. In addition to her regular church work,
she made many private individual appeals for a higher life. Many per-
sonal, yet unpretentious, acts of charity attest the sincerity of her pur-
poses. She became a member of several fraternal orders, to which she
was closely attached, and in which she was an industrious worker. Among
these are the Knights and Ladies of Security, the Rathbone Sisters and
the Eastern Star. She was married to L. W. Hubbell on November 20,
1867. She leaves four children, named Piatt, George, Hallie and Alida,
together with their father. . . . She had a wide circle of personal,
lifelong friends. Devotion to the duties that lay nearest to her was a dis-
tinguishing trait of her character. Her highest pleasure was in humbly
rendering service. To render self-sacrificing, simple service to the per-
sons and the causes she loved was to her a perpetual joy. The cares
of her home and family and others she chose to serve kept her from using
any system in her reading. Yet in the midst of her toil and cares she
read much of the best literature and highly appreciated good thought,
in whatever form it might be expressed. She had a natural aptitude for
music. Her originality in arranging and combining the moderate means
and small influences within her reach for the accomplishing of generous
purposes was an impressive quality of her mind. She did not climb
the Heights of Earth, but, walking with her Savior as her guide, she
trudged along in the lowly valley path. On Sunday, March 19, 1905,
after a lingering illness, she w T earied of her many burdens and, reclining
upon them for a couch to rest a while, passed into that silent slumber
from which she shall not be awakened until the resurrection morn. To
those by whom she was known and loved, earth cannot replace the loss
of her."
Admitted to the bar in 1891, Piatt Hubbell began practice at Tren-
ton. For some years he and his brother George have, been in partnership,
1554 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
and they occupy a good suite of offices on Main Street. Theirs is consid-
ered one of the most complete law libraries in the north part of the state,
and it includes many special works on railroads and other specialties.
The Hubbell Brothers are not corporation lawyers, and most of their
cases originate among the plain people. They have fought many impor-
tant cases to a successful conclusion, and have a reputation for serving
the best interests of their clients. A brief examination of court cal-
endars shows that the Hubbell Brothers practice not only in Grundy
County, but in many adjacent courts and even in the states of Iowa and
Kansas. A number of cases in which they have been employed have been
adjudicated in the Appellate Court and have set valuable precedents in